Compassionate leadership is linked with improved learning and innovation, and reduced staff stress, injuries and absenteeism, and even reduced patient mortality. 

At the heart of compassion is the notion that everyone experiences difficulty, and that we can all play a role in alleviating our own difficulties and those of others. Whether this is compassion for ourselves or the people we lead, colleagues or service users. We won't always feel like helping and will sometimes be tired or overwhelmed or unable to connect.

Although it helps to have positive feelings, we do not have to feel compassion to be compassionate. We can recognise our physical and mental state, resource ourselves as best we can, and respond from our firm compassionate intention, rather than from impulse or intense emotion. 

How does this translate into compassion in health, social care and other organisations? How might we think about compassionate leadership, working with colleagues, service users and their friends and families? Prof Michael West has spent his career answering this question, pointing to research that shows how compassionate leadership is linked with improved learning and innovation, and reduced staff stress, injuries and absenteeism, and even reduced patient mortality. In short, compassion is essential to high quality healthcare.

Dr Robert Marx and Professor Clara Strauss have designed a training programme of six weekly sessions, lasting 1.5 hours. 

Who is the course for?

The course is for anyone in a leadership role in a health and social care organisation and will combine experiential practice and reflection, as well as home practice to help cultivate compassion for ourselves and the people we lead.

What's in the course programme?

Download the course summary here. 

When and where?

When: Wednesdays 2.00 - 3.30pm for six weeks from 3 May 2023 until, and including 14 June 2023. There's no session on 31 May 2023. 
Where: Online

Cost £150 per person 
Pay for your place here
Apply here 

We are also offering up to 8 free spaces for SPFT staff on a first come first served basis.

Please note, we ask all those who book a place on this training programme to fill in an application form that will be sent to the facilitators. Please apply here to fill in the form.