Abstract
During times of suffering such as that inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, compassion expressed by leaders helps to ease distress. Doing so, those in a position to provide resources that might facilitate coping and recovery are attentive to the situations of distress. Despite an abundance of leadership theorizing and models, there still is little academic literature on compassionate leadership. To address this limitation, we present an exploratory case study of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, someone widely recognized for her compassionate leadership and frequently described in paradoxical terms (e.g. ‘kind and strong’; embodying ‘steel and compassion’). We address her compassionate leadership through the lenses of paradox theory, legitimacy theory and conservation of resources theory. We contribute a heuristic framework that sees various types of legitimacy leveraged synergistically to build resources and alleviate suffering – providing further legitimacy in an upward spiral of compassionate leadership.
Highlights
Email: ace.simpson@brunel.ac.uk frequently described in paradoxical terms (e.g. ‘kind and strong’; embodying ‘steel and compassion’). We address her compassionate leadership through the lenses of paradox theory, legitimacy theory and conservation of resources theory
The findings of this paper indicate that compassionate leadership, as a social process, is more complex and paradoxical than it is usually represented in literature, suggesting that compassion buffers (Kanov et al, 2004) and replenishes the strain on resources (Kahn, 1993; Scott et al, 1995; Barsade and O’Neill, 2014) that become exhausted and cause suffering during crises (Hobfoll and Freedy, 2017)
Our analysis has identified Ardern as integrating the four NEAR organizational compassion subprocesses in her leadership through paradoxical behaviours that generate legitimacy in addressing suffering through resource conservation and replenishing efforts
Summary
The findings of this paper indicate that compassionate leadership, as a social process, is more complex and paradoxical than it is usually represented in literature, suggesting that compassion buffers (Kanov et al, 2004) and replenishes the strain on resources (Kahn, 1993; Scott et al, 1995; Barsade and O’Neill, 2014) that become exhausted and cause suffering during crises (Hobfoll and Freedy, 2017). Our analysis has identified Ardern as integrating the four NEAR organizational compassion subprocesses in her leadership through paradoxical behaviours that generate legitimacy in addressing suffering through resource conservation and replenishing efforts Her compassionate response is dependent on follower legitimization that, in a leader-member-exchange process, reinforces her ability to conserve and replenish resources to alleviate followers’ distress. Different aspects of Ardern’s steering strategy (inclusiveness, rationality, idealism and pragmatism) resonate with various recognized legitimacy dimensions (relational, cognitive, moral and pragmatic) Each of these strategies/dimensions can be further aligned with the capabilities required for organizational compassion (Simpson et al, 2020) and resource conservation/generation. In the process ‘legitimacy becomes more elusive to obtain and more difficult to manipulate, but it becomes more subtle, more profound, and more self-sustaining, once established’ (Suchman, 1995: 585)
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