“Teenage male – unconscious with no pulse.”

Inspector Shields heard the call over his radio. He was the RCMP duty officer at the time. He thought he would respond to see if there was any assistance he could provide to the emergency responders, or to the family of the young man. What he discovered when he arrived was every parent’s nightmare. Their son was indeed in a very precarious medical condition that could very well take his life.

Inspector Shields provided what assistance he could while Advanced Life Support paramedics provided chest compressions to the young man as he lay unresponsive in his own bedroom. After 30 minutes of CPR, the paramedics established a weak heart beat and the young man was rushed to hospital.

Two days later, Inspector Shields phoned the family home and left a voice mail message to introduce himself and request an update on how the young man was doing.   When he awoke the next day after working a night shift, he retrieved a voice mail left by the boy’s mother informing him in an emotional and grief stricken message that her precious son had died in hospital. He was saddened, but not necessarily shocked, as this was not the first time that death had been a visitor in the line of duty.

Inspector Shields then reached a critical moment in his life and in his leadership. He could have chosen to do nothing more and no one would have thought less of him. He had not met with the family in their time of grief and, in actuality, there was no requirement to do so. However, he felt the emergence of two powerful wholehearted leadership traits rising up in his heart: Empathy and Compassion. There was now a battle going on in his heart:

“Don’t get too involved. This will be uncomfortable and inconvenient. You’ve done your job. It’s time to move on. Don’t take on their pain. You endured enough grief with the loss of your father two years ago.”

“No, there is more I can do to help these people.”

He chose to step into wholehearted leadership. Unannounced, he dropped by the family home with flowers and a card from his own family. He was invited inside and sat with the boy’s parents and three siblings to listen and learn about their son; his life and his loves. He extended empathy and compassion. He held their hands. He shared some tears and prayers with them. He visited again with his wife, and more empathy and compassion were shared. They were now connected at a heart level.

He discovered that their son had a deep love of and respect for the RCMP. The parents asked if perhaps Inspector Shields would consider attending the funeral in his red serge – the iconic uniform of the world’s most recognizable and respected national police force. Not only did he agree, but he asked one of his colleagues to join him.

Motivated by empathy and compassion, Inspector Shields and his colleague proudly stood at attention at the front of the church during the opening of the funeral service. With military precision, the two officers marched to face a table that displayed the boy’s photo and memorabilia, snapped to attention, and then respectfully bowed their heads in unison.

This was an act of extraordinary leadership to provide a most memorable moment for a broken family and friends. The family’s healing had begun through the comfort offered them by a simple act of empathy and compassion from someone who chose to live and lead wholeheartedly.

What an extraordinary story about the difference leaders can make when we choose to lead wholeheartedly – from the heart – to touch the hearts of those who are influenced and impacted by our leadership. Empathy and compassion are leadership traits that any leader can choose to implement.

I encourage you to ask yourself how you can demonstrate empathy and compassion for those in your care. How can you step beyond the ordinary to influence people at a heart level? Sure, this may be inconvenient and uncomfortable for you, but it will create extraordinary impact in those you lead – and in you as well.

Empathy and compassion – two leadership traits demonstrated by wholehearted leaders to create profound and powerful impact and influence in those they lead, and, perhaps even more so, in themselves.