The 9 Behaviors of Caring Leadership

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I can think of less than three leaders whom I think of as caring leaders. 

One, I remember him, and he is one of the best leaders I have ever met.  

Let’s call him Ed. He has this curious way about him and this very funny sense of humor.  

He was very attuned to how people were feeling and responding to what was happening around them within the organization. 

I was hired to lead customer experience for this organization.  

Pretty early on, I started to hit walls, there were a lot of delays and pauses in things that I wanted to achieve.  

I end up getting frustrated putting my head down, and doing things that didn’t require approval, just the everyday simple tasks and assignments.  

Then, at one point, he comes down to my office with a smile on his face and says, “You have a minute?” 

And then I’m like, “Oh boy, I wonder what this is about.” 

He comes in, sits down, and says, 

“Heather, I know you are frustrated, we hired you to do this job. But you are doing an amazing job with what we have given you. Just be patient with us as we kind of work through some things. Just keep doing it, okay? Keep your chin up and keep doing what you are doing well.” 

Still with a big smile on his face.  

Then, at that very moment, the weight lifted off my shoulders and I felt like I could smile super big, and I was so glad to have him as my supervisor.  

The fact that he recognized in me that I was frustrated, and to come out of his way to be there for me, meant the world.

He put me in different positions so that he knew I would shine, presenting things for diverse groups. 

He did all the things and acted the way that a caring leader would act.  

Action. That is the key. How he behaved made him a caring leader to many! 

Have you noticed… 

Great people leaving, costing you time and money? Employees seem disengaged. 

Caring Leadership builds bridges for organizations to ensure emotional and social intelligence, cultural competency, and strategies for active listening resulting in success in all areas of business. 

This is important because every employee deserves to go to a job, they love with leaders who show they care for them. 

According to a recent study my company Employee Fanatix conducted, only 65% of in-person and remote employees said that they felt like their supervisor or boss listens to the things they say. The percentage was better for hybrid employees at 81%, but there is still room for improvement. 

The Caring Leadership® eco-system teaches the renowned 9 behaviors of Caring Leadership and essential skills for people at all levels of the organization. 

Let’s get started… 

Number 1: Whole Person Leadership 

You consider your employees’ lives in aggregate—including what ‘s happening in their lives outside of work. You help them deal with personal issues and meet them where they are to demonstrate you value their entire truth. 

Number 2: Self Leadership 

You understand the purpose behind why you lead, you’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and you regularly engage in self-care before attempting to care for others. 

Number 3: Team Decision Making 

You involve team members in decision-making and problem-solving, thus engaging with a diversity of perspectives to achieve greater innovation. 

Number 4: Team Resilience 

You give others the skills to bounce back from adversity and help them reframe challenges as an opportunity for professional and personal growth. 

Number 5: Strengths-Based Leadership 

You actively search for the gifts within those you lead, and you go out of your way to encourage the growth of other people’s talents. 

Number 6: Psychological Safety 

You establish psychological safety by fostering a judgment-free and inclusive environment where everyone feels secure in speaking up and taking risks. 

Number 7: Listening Cultures

You take the time to authentically hear every person’s voice, and you welcome all opinions—even the dissenting ones. 

Number 8: Belonging at Work

You seek to honor colleagues’ diverse experiences and perspectives, educating yourself about other peoples’ challenges so you can build a culture of belonging. 

Number 9: Employee Empowerment

You trade micromanagement for clear expectation setting and intentional delegating, thereby granting employees full agency and confidence to succeed. 

Just as I mentioned earlier in my story about Ed, he was a caring leader, because he was receptive to my frustration, reassured me, and was empathetic toward my situation. His response to me was saying to me how great of a job I was doing with different projects and tasks I was working on for the company. The behaviors for caring leadership that Ed displayed the most were strength-based relationships, psychological safety, and employee empowerment. This goes to show the powerful significance of how these nine behaviors help shape the most empathetic leaders and the strongest well-rounded employees.

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