Developing compassionate and emotionally-literate leadership

Using strategic tools and resources to support emotional literacy promotes wellbeing and high-level care.

Supervision

This resource is for anyone interested in aspiring to a leadership role in social care, and for those already in leadership roles.

Emotional intelligence is an important quality in leaders. It can be understood as the ability to:

motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations
control impulse and delay gratification
regulate one’s moods and prevent distress from overwhelming the ability to think
empathise and to hope

Read more about this topic in Goleman’s book (see References). Emotionally aware, compassionate leaders reflect on their leadership style and create a supportive, psychologically safe environment for others.

The following information can help you assess your leadership style and its impact on your organisation, supporting an open, reflective culture.

Develop self-awareness and emotional insight

Research shows that compassionate leadership boosts staff motivation and engagement, promotes wellbeing and high-quality care. Compassionate leadership relies on abilities and skills including:

building strong relationships
empathising
active listening
offering support so people feel genuinely valued and respected

Make sure you recognise your own emotions and understand how emotions impact thoughts and decisions.

Connecting with others

Becoming an emotionally aware, compassionate leader is a common goal in helping professions. Reflect on how well you:

understand others’ perspectives
are aware of your impact on others
bring out the best in people with a personalised approach
create positive feelings
build strong teams

Create clear communication

In learning organisations, where reflective supervision is important, the aim is to support people in seeking help with emotional challenges or complex decisions. Effective communication skills are essential. Consider if you regularly:

create the right environment for open dialogue
handle tough conversations well
manage conflicts through mediation and negotiation

Assessing your emotional literacy

Emotional literacy includes four important attributes that reflect the traits of compassionate leaders. These are:

self-awareness
self-management
social awareness
relationships management

Leaders may aim to be emotionally aware, but a focus on processes and targets can sometimes push relationships and empathy aside. Be aware that unconscious habits, like emotional defences or boundaries, can lead to issues like cynicism and detachment.

Everyone brings personal biases, assumptions, and insecurities to their work relationships. Some may demonstrate white privilege, while others face racism or discrimination. If these factors are not addressed in supervision, unfair treatment or judgement can result.

Emotions can also affect judgement and problem-solving, but emotional awareness and compassion can be developed. Self-awareness is the first step.

Try a quick quiz to find out more about your emotional awareness as a leader.

The Employer standard 4: Wellbeing resource offers more advice for leaders to promote a healthy organisation structure.

References

Research in Practice. (n.d.). Practice supervisor development programme (child and family social work).

Research in Practice. (n.d.). Supervisor development programme (adult social care) tools.

SCIE. Effective supervision in a variety of settings Guide 50 (2017)

Skills for Care. (n.d.). Effective supervision: A practical guide for adult social care managers and supervisors.

Next page: Understanding your leadership approach

The resources have been developed by Research in Practice in collaboration with DfE.
Published: 27 February 2025
Last updated: 27 February 2025