ESL CONNECT | Compassionate Leadership B2

Compassionate Leadership

This B2 lesson helps students understand the difference between empathy and compassion, especially when leaders have to give hard news.

Lesson aims

Understand a video about leadership and difficult decisions.
Practise B2 vocabulary for empathy, compassion and workplace change.
Complete a first-minute tapescript gap fill with 8 missing words.
Use language for explaining difficult decisions and giving advice.

Lead-in: What is the hardest kind of news a leader might have to give?

Open video on YouTube

Prep Part 1

Match the key words before watching the first part.

Questions

1

If you give someone hard news,...

2

If a leader avoids hard things,...

3

If you feel empathy,...

4

If you are compassionate,...

Answer options

Watch Part 1

Watch from 0:00 to about 1:07. Focus on the difference between empathy and compassion.

Watch on YouTube

Open the first part of the video.

Open video

Tapescript Gap Fill: First Minute

Listen to the first minute of the video. Complete the tapescript with the 8 missing words.

Complete the text

One of the hardest parts about is giving people hard news. I've been a CEO. I know. Sometimes you have to say that your job isn't here anymore. Sometimes you have to tell whole that there's going to be a new structure to things. And hard news is, well, it's . It's very important that leaders understand that that is not a good argument for hard things. Now, one of the biggest problems that we have is misunderstanding empathy and . They're not the same thing. Empathy is to feel somebody else's . And when you're motivated entirely by empathy, it becomes a really hard thing to do these things, and you might even be handcuffed and unable to do them. And you'll wait too long, when it gets even more to other people.

Missing words

Use each word once.

Comprehension 1

Click each question to reveal the answer.

Giving people hard news.

Because avoiding them can make the situation more damaging for other people.

Empathy is feeling somebody else’s pain.

They may feel handcuffed, unable to act, and wait too long.

Understanding the problem, feeling enough of the pain, being rational about what needs to be done, and having the courage to do it.

Vocabulary from Part 1

1Leaders sometimes have to give people hard .

2Empathy means feeling someone else's .

3Compassion requires rational thinking and .

4Waiting too long can be more .

Prep Part 2

Match the ideas before watching the second part.

Questions

1

If a company downsizes,...

2

If you put something off,...

3

If you transmit information,...

4

If empathy is unaccompanied,...

Answer options

Watch Part 2

Watch from about 1:07 to the end. Focus on downsizing, courage, preparation and unaccompanied empathy.

Watch on YouTube

Open the second part of the video.

Open video

Comprehension 2

Click each question to reveal the answer.

A leader who needs to downsize the employee base by about 20%.

Because it can feel overwhelmingly hard and make the leader put off the decision.

A clear understanding of why it must be done, empathy for the people affected, a plan for transmitting the information, and courage.

Meditation, visualisation, prayer or another technique that helps prepare emotionally.

Empathy alone can become problematic if it is separated from understanding, rational action and courage.

Vocabulary from Part 2

1Downsizing means reducing the employee .

2If you put something off, you it.

3A compassionate leader has a clear .

4Empathy alone can become a .

Vocabulary Review

Review key B2 leadership vocabulary from the video.

Word / phrase	Meaning	Example
hard news	difficult or painful information	Leaders sometimes have to give hard news.
empathy	feeling another person’s pain	Empathy can make difficult decisions emotionally hard.
compassion	caring about pain and taking helpful action	The greatest leaders are compassionate.
handcuffed	unable to act freely	Empathy alone can leave leaders feeling handcuffed.
courage	the ability to do something difficult	Compassion requires courage.
downsize	reduce the number of employees	The company may need to downsize.
put off	delay doing something	A leader might put off hard news.
overwhelming	very strong and difficult to deal with	Giving bad news can feel overwhelming.
transmit	communicate or pass on information	Leaders need a plan to transmit information.
virtue / vice	a good quality / a bad quality	Unaccompanied empathy can turn from a virtue into a vice.

Speaking Questions

What is the difference between empathy and compassion?
Can being too empathetic make leadership harder?
How should a leader prepare before giving hard news?
What makes a difficult decision compassionate rather than cruel?

Grammar: Obligation, Advice and Consequences

Use B2 structures to discuss leadership decisions and difficult communication.

Structure	Use	Example
have to + verb	obligation	Sometimes leaders have to give hard news.
should + verb	advice	Leaders should prepare before difficult conversations.
If + present, can / might + verb	possible consequence	If leaders wait too long, it can become more damaging.
in order to + verb	purpose	Leaders need courage in order to act compassionately.

Grammar Exercise 1: Complete the sentences

1Leaders sometimes have to hard news.

2They should carefully before difficult conversations.

3If leaders wait too long, the situation can become more .

4Leaders need courage in order to .

5They might the decision if empathy is their only tool.

Grammar Exercise 2: Reveal the correction

Leaders sometimes have to give hard news.

Leaders should prepare carefully.

If leaders wait too long, it can become more damaging.

Leaders need courage in order to act.

Grammar Exercise 3: Sentence Transformations

Use “have to”.
Leaders sometimes need to give hard news.

Use “should”.
Leaders need preparation before difficult conversations.

Use “If”.
Waiting too long makes the situation worse.

Use “in order to”.
Leaders need courage because they must act compassionately.

Discussion

Use the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson.

Is compassion more important than empathy in leadership?
Why might empathy alone make decisions harder?
How can a leader give hard news in a respectful way?
Should leaders always act quickly when a decision is painful?
What kind of preparation helps before a difficult conversation?
Have you ever seen a leader handle hard news well or badly?

Useful Language

Giving opinions	Talking about leadership	Giving advice
I’d argue that... From my perspective... I’m not sure whether...	A good leader should... Compassion means... Empathy alone can...	Leaders have to... They should... In order to...

Role Play: Giving Hard News

Practise communicating a difficult decision compassionately.

Situation: A manager has to explain a difficult organisational change to an employee or team.

Student A: Manager

Explain the difficult decision clearly, respectfully and compassionately.

Student B: Employee

Ask questions, express concerns and explain how the news affects you.

Challenge

Use at least four phrases from the grammar section.

Manager language	Employee language
We have to... I understand this is difficult... In order to... We should...	Can you explain why...? What happens next? I’m worried about...