Principals Reflection
As parents, we want our children to be happy, but are we willing for this happiness to be unconditional, unresponsive to the benefit of the healthy growth of self or with others? The happiest lives are probably those in which neither interpersonal relationships nor impersonal interests are idealised as the only way to ‘salvation.’ We can see the happiness on many of our students faces when they celebrate their own achievement or the achievement of their mates during assembly; we see happiness exhibited by our students when they are at play with others or in solitary pursuits; we also acknowledge that happiness, as with all emotions, is transitory and ‘will pass.’ An important responsibility for all in our school community is to help each other, and our students in particular, appreciate the transitory nature of emotions, especially if such emotions are associated or attached to events, and to develop a sense of healthy, honest reflection and introspection from events in order to grow both as an individual and as part of the many communities that we relate in, to and with. Studies by Rasmus Hougaard, founder of the global leadership organisation, the Potential Project, found that leaders - people entrusted with responsibilities for others - are generally not doing a great job in motivating their people. A study of 250,000 leaders, asked them: “How well do you engage your people” - 82% of leaders said they were doing a great job. When the researchers asked their employees, however, 77% said that their leaders were not doing a great job and that 65% of employees would forego a pay rise to see their leader fired! Why? It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but one of our key Mercy values has the answer.
Hougaard found that the longer a person is in a position of power, the part of the brain that is associated with mirror neuroning, (the neurons in the brain that allows us to be empathetic), is gradually switched off. Therefore, one of the most important jobs for leaders is to keep the ego in check, that they behave in a selfless way, not for their own gain but for the gain of the people they assist in leading. In an assessment of the leaders of the study, 96% of these leaders said that compassion is extremely important for their leadership, however, the study about mirror neurons, highlighted that, with positions of power, people will often lose their ability to really empathise with people - where the intention is to want to be of benefit to others; that by means of ‘my interaction with you’, we may have a better day.
What is affirming is that Hougaard’s comprehensive research identified that a culture based on empathy and compassion can arise; a culture where people are more attentive to each other; people are more aware of how they communicate; there is a culture of a stronger sense of presence, a stronger sense of focus on the right priorities rather than being distracted. People move from empathy (feeling) into action-orientation (compassion) and they try to solve issues with this person by coaching or mentoring, by delegating the work to others, by taking on the work themselves if needed; compassion is an action that comes initially from being empathetic. As part of our most recent School Validation (‘inspection’ of our effectiveness in living out our mission, vision and practices as a school that reflects the Mercy tradition) our staff were involved in a comprehensive survey instrument by an independent organisation. It was extremely pleasing to receive the feedback that confirmed what we, as a staff, believe to be sacrosanct to our collective goals the faith of compassion, mercy, respect and hospitality resulting in a very strong culture of ‘talking with, not to, not about’, coupled with a real desire to make a positive difference in student outcomes whilst supporting staff welfare.
Aristotle is quoted as saying, “To perceive is to suffer” and certainly empathy involves an element of discomfort. However, by harnessing the energy that is associated with suffering - and we can all attest to the ‘strange strength’ that is associated with suffering - then empathy can be a ‘compassionate’ tool for building/connecting people into groups, for allowing us to function as more than self-obsessed individuals. Thank you to all in our school community who embrace our Mercy values, especially those of mercy and of compassion regardless of our own challenges.
Regards
Rod Linhart (Principal)