This was a presentation given as part of a panel discussion for Brunel For Business webinar series run by Brunel Hive (https://brunelhive.com/). I presented on compassionate leadership in higher education
2. Brunel University London Brunel for Business Webinar Series 2
David Batty, The Guardian, 2nd April 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/apr/02/hundreds-of-
university-staff-made-redundant-due-to-coronavirus
https://coronacontract.org/
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
• 23rd March 2020 – lockdown in the UK
started
• Less than 2 weeks later it was clear
that many universities were
responding to pressure on finances
through redundancies and
cancellations of temporary contracts:
3. Brunel University London
At the same time, many universities were responding in a
different way…
• King’s College London decided not to withdraw strike pay from
staff and gave all staff an extra 2 days’ leave at Easter
• Liverpool University focused on telling staff to put their wellbeing
and that of their families first – and gave them an extra 2 days’
holiday
• Brunel has decided to close completely for 2 weeks at Christmas
– without staff needing to take additional leave
Brunel for Business Webinar Series 3
4. Brunel University London
Resources vs Compassion in Our Organisations
Coronavirus has changed
everything;
FTCs and uncertain career paths
have been around for a long time
in universities;
Context is king here – and the
context is very different from
before;
The story is one of short-termism
vs long-termism with resources
vs compassion being the ultimate
battle.
Brunel for Business Webinar Series
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
5. Brunel University London
Compassion
• Compassion requires behaviour – it is not just a feeling;
• Compassion requires that we have to understand what our choices mean for
other people and acts as a bridge the individual and community;
• Context is therefore key - currently highly uncertain and rife with anxiety;
• Individuals’ circumstances are much more precarious than before – hence
strength of feeling in response to management decisions;
• The lack of compassion in some organisations’ treatment of staff is shocking
when held up as a contrast to levels of compassion in our communities and
towards healthcare workers;
• Lack of compassion also creates long-term problems – resentment, fostering
of negative emotions plus stress and unsustainable work burdens;
• All of this undermines ability to be creative;
Brunel for Business Webinar 5
6. Brunel University London Brunel for Business Webinar 6
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Creatively- and
compassionately-
impoverished organisations
will not be able to innovate
their way out of this crisis –
or do the work necessary to
prevent the next one
