• Published May 2, 2023
  • 3 Minute Read
WHITE PAPER

(Better) Leadership Resources

(Better) Leadership: Resources for Leading With Compassion, Wellbeing & Belonging

Better Leaders Focus On Compassion, Wellbeing & Belonging

Leadership isn’t what it used to be. Turnover, burnout, and exclusion persist after the pandemic, and the ways we work have shifted.

As the world changes, leadership must change too — because healthy organizational cultures start with individual managers, who set the tone for their teams.

And if you see a gap between the culture you have and the culture you want, focus on leaders — because while good leadership has gotten you this far, it can’t get your organization where it needs to go next. But better leadership will.

Better leaders build more collaborative and effective teams. They support more resilient and innovative organizations. And better leadership doesn’t just impact workplace culture — it starts to transform communities, and even the world.

Moving Towards (Better) Leadership ResourcesThis extensive collection of complimentary, downloadable, research-based leadership resources offers specific, actionable tips and insights to help leaders evolve from good to better:

  • First, better leadership starts with compassion. While a good leader responds with empathy, a better leader creates a level playing field for the team. They take time to understand someone’s strengths, challenges, and even hardships. By recognizing the whole person in context, leaders can take productive actions to support their teams, help people feel psychologically safe, and remove roadblocks in their way.
  • It also includes a focus on employee wellbeing, a need that has become increasingly important with employee burnout and isolation on the rise. Better leaders create an environment where everyone can feel good about themselves and their work. And while there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, there are clear steps leaders can take to support wellbeing — both for themselves and for others.
  • And finally, it’s about building belonging at work. When everyone feels included consistently, they hold back less. They give more back. They’re more willing to take risks and ask for help, even through personal shortcomings and organizational shifts. When everyone feels that they belong, talent better leveraged, and organizations are more innovative and resilient.

As we shared at our event, Towards (Better) Leadership: Centering Compassion, Wellbeing & Belonging, our research and decades of experience tell us that these 3 pillars are key — they can make or break teams and entire organizations. And the good news is, leaders can influence all of them. Combined, focusing on these 3 things takes leaders from good to better, and they’re powerful tools to unlock productivity, improve collaboration, increase innovation, and support engagement and retention at every level of your organization.

Download our better leadership resources today to learn exactly why — and how — to focus on leading with compassion, wellbeing, and belonging at the forefront.

Download (Better) Leadership Resources for You & Your Organization

Download (Better) Leadership Resources for You & Your Organization

With over 30 pages of insights on (better) leadership gleaned from our research, plus team discussion questions and actionable tips for managers, this collection of leadership resources is your guide to understanding the importance of compassion, wellbeing, and belonging at work. Use it to help yourself, your team, and your organization — become better.

  • Published May 2, 2023
  • 3 Minute Read

Based on Research by

Stephanie Wormington
Stephanie Wormington
Former Director, Global Strategic Research

Stephanie is a researcher with a background in developmental and educational psychology. Her research at CCL focused primarily on promoting equitable and inclusive organizational cultures, exploring collective leadership through networks, and enhancing motivation and empowerment for leaders across their professional journeys.

Karissa McKenna
Karissa McKenna
Global Product Manager, Open Enrollment

Karissa is the product manager and a lead designer of CCL’s flagship Leadership Development Program (LDP) and other programs. She designs and facilitates leadership development solutions with a focus on high-tech, biotech, and research organizations where collaboration and innovation across boundaries and expertise are critical to success. She holds a BA in cultural anthropology from University of California San Diego and an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.

Paige Graham
Paige Graham
Global Manager Portfolio, Consultative Solutions

Paige designs and facilitates custom leadership development solutions, specializing in senior team performance, organizational change, innovation, talent, and culture. Before joining us, she developed a course on leadership adaptability for the US Army War College, worked as a senior consultant and Vice President of an international consulting and assessments company, and served 4 years as a university professor and department chair in the School of Organizational Leadership at the University of Rockies in Denver, CO.

What to Explore Next

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The (Better) Leadership Project

As the world changes, leadership should change too. We believe it’s time to reexamine "good" leadership and evolve towards better leadership. At CCL, we believe that (better) leadership is a collective effort — and it starts with individuals.

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Create (Better) Culture: Start With Compassionate Leadership

Compassionate leaders are more effective leaders, because they’re able to build trust and collaboration on their teams. Learn how showing compassion — to yourself and others — is the key.

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Create (Better) Culture: Build Belonging at Work

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This introduction to our leadership philosophy explains how direction, alignment, and commitment (the elements of our DAC framework) are key in how leadership works, connecting exponential potential with collective progress.

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About CCL

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® is a top-ranked, global, nonprofit provider of leadership development and a pioneer in the field of global leadership research. We know from experience how transformative remarkable leaders really can be.

Over the past 50 years, we’ve worked with organizations of all sizes from around the world, including more than 2/3 of the Fortune 1000. Our hands-on development solutions are evidence-based and steeped in our work with hundreds of thousands of leaders at all levels.