How Can I Help? The Practice of Compassionate Leadership with Professor Michael West

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Marie Kilduff speaks with Professor Michael West about what compassionate leadership really means in healthcare and why it matters now more than ever.

Drawing on decades of research, Professor West explains how leadership behaviour shapes organisational culture, staff wellbeing, and patient outcomes. He challenges the idea that compassion is soft or optional, arguing instead that it requires courage, accountability, and a willingness to address difficult issues such as chronic workload, toxic behaviours, and system pressures.

The conversation explores the ABC conditions for compassion: human needs, autonomy, belonging, and competence, and how creating the right conditions for staff leads to innovation, psychological safety, and better care. Professor West also reflects on self-compassion, presence, teamwork, and the simple leadership question that can transform cultures: How can I help?

This episode offers practical insight for clinicians, managers, and system leaders seeking to build compassionate cultures that support staff and improve patient care.

Professor Michael West CBE

Professor of Organisational Psychology, Lancaster University Management School

Senior Visiting Fellow, The King’s Fund

Book: West, M. A. (2021). Compassionate Leadership: Sustaining Wisdom, Humanity and Presence in Health and Social Care, published by Swirling Leaf Press.