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The outdated ideal of leaders as unflinching and infallible breeds burnout, toxic team dynamics, high turnover, and a dwindling pipeline of future leaders. Caring leadership – grounded in compassion, kindness, and empathy – isn’t soft. It’s powerful. Here’s why you, as HR leaders, must champion it.
Caring leaders also transform workplace biology. By fostering trust and connection, they stimulate happy hormones like oxytocin and prolactin, which promote calm and bonding. This soothes the nervous system of leaders and teams, enhancing focus during high-pressure delivery and deadlines. In contrast, less empathetic leaders trigger stress hormones – cortisol and adrenaline – released by the adrenal glands, activating fight-or-flight responses. This leaves everyone on edge, undermining wellbeing and performance. Caring leadership, then, is a neurological game changer, especially during challenging times.
1. You can find strength in vulnerability
Caring leadership begins within. When we are aware, recognise and acknowledge our stress – say, before a restructure – we are more likely to find ways to ground ourselves. Picture pausing to check your emotions before resolving a workplace tension. Using words to calmly describe how you feel about your processes is not weakness; it is resilience. By modelling vulnerability, you show your team it’s OK to be human, building trust that outlasts boldness. This oxytocin-driven connection calms nerves, sharpening focus for yourself and the others. As HR leaders, you can coach executives to tap this inner strength, making it a cornerstone of enduring leadership.
2. You’ll build teams that stay, not stray
The unempathetic leader myth equates control with results, but this breeds resentment and disconnection. When we are present and listen to our team’s needs and concerns – like during a merger – we gain loyalty, not lose authority. Imagine addressing your staff’s fears with transparency instead of rules and orders. That is strategic and powerful, not soft. It cuts turnover because people stay where they feel valued, their oxytocin levels rising with trust. You can play a role in nurturing and enabling managers who prioritise connection, knowing it is the glue that keeps teams intact.
3. Your care can drive performance
“Harsh leadership” might seem efficient from the outset, but it breeds fear and stifles innovation and performance. Teams with psychological safety outperform those ruled by fear. When you bring in and empower leaders to care, you’re igniting creativity, confidence and problem-solving skills. As HR leaders, you have the power to champion and build caring systems, structures, policies and processes that enable executives and managers to recognise and embrace care as a performance booster. Add “care” in future leadership appointments, jobs selection criteria, performance review processes, and promotion benchmarks.
4. You can ignite a movement that redefines the future of work
Caring leadership is visionary. You can lead this charge. Imagine backing leaders who model care so boldly that it reshapes the energy and culture of your organisation. In a world that is seemingly harsher and less caring, building a movement and “warriors of care” can be revolutionary. As HR leaders, you are positioned to advocate for the power of care with your executives who are ready to redefine workplaces with compassion and kindness. Look for frameworks, models, methods and tools that enable you and your leadership team to embed care in your workplace.
5. We’re nurturing tomorrow’s leaders
The dominant and harsh leadership model and narrative could deter future leaders, resulting in an empty pipeline of caring leaders. When we mentor with kindness, like guiding a junior through failure with encouragement, we build confidence and a succession of caring leaders. You can play a role in ensuring a robust talent pool ready to lead with heart and grit by creating systems that reward caring, making leadership a calling rather than a dungeon.
Caring leadership isn’t soft – it’s the future. It harnesses biology to calm minds and boost performance, countering the stress of uncaring approaches. You have the power to rewrite the leadership narrative, supporting those brave enough to be kind. Let’s create a movement of caring leadership and workplaces together because a world that cares starts with you.
Dr Siew-Fang Law and Hannes van Rensburg are co-authors of The Power of Care.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
