Developing compassionate academic leadership: the practice of kindness

“Whilst acknowledging Mathieson’s argument that disciplines should be considered in terms of epistemological differences and socially situated practices, organisational leadership and culture can be considered as interdependent and synergistic (de Zulueta, 2016).”

“…might be described as the ‘compassion turn’, which recognises the crucial role of compassion as a core concern in education, health and social care, and globally to ensure the future sustainability of humankind and the planet (e.g. Ballatt & Campling, 2011; Coles, 2015; Gibbs, 2017; Gilbert, 2017).”

“This will provide space for the ‘metaphorical removal of the cataracts by which people have been blinded’ (Smyth, 2017, p. 216) in order to create dialogue and engagement. I conclude with two leadership questions posed by Johri (2018), who offers a global perspective on kindness in leadership.”

“…might be described as the ‘compassion turn’, which recognises the crucial role of compassion as a core concern in education, health and social care, and globally to ensure the future sustainability of humankind and the planet (e.g. Ballatt & Campling, 2011; Coles, 2015; Gibbs, 2017; Gilbert, 2017).”

“…might be described as the ‘compassion turn’, which recognises the crucial role of compassion as a core concern in education, health and social care, and globally to ensure the future sustainability of humankind and the planet (e.g. Ballatt & Campling, 2011; Coles, 2015; Gibbs, 2017; Gilbert, 2017).”

“Culture encompasses the shared values, assumptions and beliefs within organisations, occupational groups and disciplines (Mathieson, 2012; Schein, 2017).”

“Critical studies of university contexts (e.g. Smyth, 2017; Waddington, 2016; 2017) also reveal troubling compassion gaps.”

“Importantly, Murray and Gill’s (2018) exploration of kindness in the UK public and private sectors suggest that kindness is an easily understood concept, in contrast to compassion, care and empathy, which were found to be more ambiguous terms.”

“Waddington (2018, p. 87) argues that, in an era of marketisation, contemporary university cultures in the United Kingdom and elsewhere are often characterised by “subtle, but powerful, competition and striving for prestige and dominance … [stifling] the conditions in which compassionate pedagogy…”

“Specific ways for closing the “compassion gap” in Higher Education institutions have been identified (Waddington, 2017) as, for example, promoting a variety of practices of kindness at individual, group and organizational level, starting from the academic leadership (Waddington, 2018).”

“Compassionate pedagogy is based on kindness being a central feature of teaching and interacting with students and colleagues, followed by actions that promote acceptance and well- being (Waddington, 2018).”

“…original purpose for establishing this doctoral community was to reinforce pedagogical learning and support each other practically, the group served as an adaptive system for responding to our group member’s needs; in turn, humanity and care were observed on numerous occasions (Waddington, 2018).”

“However, Waddington [77] argued that we are currently witnessing a “compassion turn” that acknowledges the vital role of basic manifestations of humanity and care in organizations.”

“Expanding on this viewpoint, Waddington (2018) argues that universities have a moral and legal responsibility to take reasonable measures to protect all individuals associated with the institutions from personal physical and/or emotional suffering, including both academic staff and students.”

“…compassion in higher education is a growing field of research, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing racial injustice, and continued environmental crises (The Care Collective, 2020; Gibbs et al., 2017; Mutch & Tatebe, 2017; Waddington, 2017, 2018, 2021; Worline & Dutton, 2017).”

“…10.52547/johepal.2.2.37 41 As mentioned in my previous paper (Denney, 2020) compassion has been largely ignored by leadership studies, although this is changing partly due to Covid, and particularly those focusing on higher education, barring the work of Waddington (Waddington, 2016, 2018, 2021).”

“Hence, compassionate pedagogy enables connection and community, pushing against utilitarian values of independence and individual achievement (Waddington, 2018).”

“(Waddington, 2018, p. 87) This is a call for higher education providers to look to schools in Australia as well as the empirical literature for inspiration.”

“Waddington (2018) argues for “a compelling need for compassionate academic leadership support or a driver for improved academic performance?”