Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review

Recent disastrous events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has amplified the appeal for compassionate leadership in organizations and is viewed as the need of the hour. While compassion is a timeless concept, there appears to be a lack of clarity around the idea of compassionate leadership, and the cu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Management review quarterly Vol. 74; no. 3; pp. 1473 - 1557
Main Authors: Ramachandran, Sunder, Balasubramanian, Sreejith, James, Wayne Fabian, Al Masaeid, Turki
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2024
Subjects:
Accounting/Auditing
Business and Management
Innovation/Technology Management
International Business
Leadership
D23
D02
Leadership styles
Systematic review
L21
Compassionate leadership
J24
M54
L25
M12
J28
Compassion
ISSN:2198-1620, 2198-1639
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Recent disastrous events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has amplified the appeal for compassionate leadership in organizations and is viewed as the need of the hour. While compassion is a timeless concept, there appears to be a lack of clarity around the idea of compassionate leadership, and the current understanding appears limited, fragmented, and scattered across the literature. This integrative systematic review of 41 articles during the last 20 years (2002–2021) conceptualizes six critical dimensions of compassionate leadership, namely: empathy; openness and communication; physical, mental health and well-being; inclusiveness; integrity; respect and dignity. These findings enhance our understanding of how organizational leaders can effectively incorporate the dimensions to become compassionate leaders. The review examines how compassionate leadership is defined and understood in the literature, and a contribution in the form of a definition for compassionate leadership is offered. Finally, gaps in the literature are highlighted, offering avenues for future research, along with implications for research, theory, and practice.
ISSN:2198-1620
2198-1639
DOI:10.1007/s11301-023-00340-w