Compassionate Systems Leadership
Real progress happens when knowledge and structure meet the heart-led efforts of those dedicated to change.
Compassionate Systems Leadership (CSL) is an approach to leadership that explicitly builds skills and practices in three interconnected domains: self (building a practice of personal reflection, mindfulness and compassion), each other (building authentic relationships that can support generative conversations), and the system (developing skills and capabilities to use tools that honour the complexity of the work that needs to be done).
CSL draws on practices that are similar to those that have proven effective in promoting well-being and supporting social and emotional development. It extends these to include the strengthening of interpersonal relationships, while deepening the understanding of how the system can perpetuate, rather than diminish, stress in the workplace. CSL can shift us from that continuous cycle of doing what we can to take care of ourselves, while always returning to a structure that does not take care of the health and well-being of the people within it.
SELF
The foundation of CSL is a continuous practice of mindfulness and reflection. It draws on the premise that increasing the awareness of ourselves as leaders – our values and beliefs, our passions and our challenges – allows us to become more alert to how we are “showing up” at work every day and how our behaviour and approach might be impacting those around us. CSL uses simple tools to build this awareness. It encourages a practice of personal mindfulness meditation (the deep skill of pausing, understanding our emotions and thoughts, and responding from a place of clarity), and regular reflective journaling.
EACH OTHER
SYSTEM
The core concepts of systems thinking that are included in the CSL framework provide a broad set of tools for viewing the challenges and opportunities faced by child-serving systems. CSL incorporates a series of practices and concepts that facilitate perspective taking (from multiple perspectives), deepen knowledge about systemic behaviour, and illuminate the patterns that often lead to us into a continuous cycle of frustration and powerlessness, where we keep on doing the same things and getting the same outcome.
The Foundations of CSL
The CSL framework we are developing in B.C. is a compilation of the work of many others. It is connected to the work of Peter Senge and Mette Boell at the Centre for Systems Awareness at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Through the Centre, a global community for systemic change in education is developing. In B.C., we have also integrated an approach to cultivating compassion developed at Stanford University and the Cultivating Compassion Institute based in California. We are grateful to be able to draw on tools and methods developed by Otto Scharmer (Theory U), Robert Fritz (Creative Tension), and others. View these resources and more on our Resources Page.
Our Mission
Through the BC Compassionate Systems Leadership Network we are applying this framework with child-serving professionals in B.C. Our discussions and emergent practice focus on collaborative learning. And, we are grounded in the idea that “we are the system,” that what we each do, individually and collectively is an essential contribution toward meaningful and effective systemic change. We are also connected in a common commitment to approach the work ahead of us with an intention toward kindness and compassion: cultivating compassion for ourselves and for those we connect with every day is an essential foundation for the transformation that we seek. Find out more about the BC CSL Network and our team on our about page.
