The words nurturing and leadership are not often used together. Nurturing is seen as synonymous with the feminine quality of caregiving. Leadership is seen as masculine, calling to mind images of men leading other men in battlefields and across boardrooms.
Yet, this brand of leadership has not worked very well, especially in the post-pandemic world. Recent research by Gallup showed that employee engagement across the world in 2024 was at a 10-year low. GenZs want more holistic growth, better work-life integration and leaders who are authentic, caring and inclusive.
We interviewed 117 CEOs for our book, The Nurturing Quotient. The stories were similar. Leaders faced an unprecedented number of challenges at all levels — macroeconomic, operational, people-related and personal. CEOs faced the additional pressure of maintaining a façade of control and equanimity in times of crises. They were expected to deliver on numbers quickly even as they battled stress, intense public scrutiny, personal crises and the danger of constant disruption.
The solution is not to do more of the same, but to do things differently. Leaders are not commanders of obedience but gardeners of potential. Nurturing leadership, measured by NQ or nurturing quotient, is the ability of a leader to consistently nurture self and others for sustainable growth.
{{/usCountry}}The solution is not to do more of the same, but to do things differently. Leaders are not commanders of obedience but gardeners of potential. Nurturing leadership, measured by NQ or nurturing quotient, is the ability of a leader to consistently nurture self and others for sustainable growth.
{{/usCountry}}We saw that the leaders who focus on their own well-being and growth are better placed to grow their teams and the business. Leaders needed to focus on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of nurturing themselves to bring their best selves to work. Then, they can mentor, coach, inspire, listen and empower others for growth.
Nurturing leadership is not about control but cultivation — of self, of people, and of performance. At its core are four critical qualities we describe with the acronym HOPE — humility, openness, patience, and empathy. These were the traits echoed by the leaders in our research and they cut across all the behaviours needed to nurture self and others.
Humility is the beginning of learning. Humility shows up daily in the form of the willingness to ask for help, the ability to learn from anyone irrespective of age, gender or title, the grace to celebrate team success instead of taking personal credit. Leaders who admit their mistakes create psychological safety, which provides fertile ground for innovation, risk-taking, and belonging.
Openness is curiosity in action. Listening deeply without any biases and asking powerful questions are superpowers for leaders. This creates a safe, inclusive space for discovery and dialogue. When people feel heard, they stretch, they contribute, they grow, and the business grows. The leader who cannot be a lifelong learner will become irrelevant and redundant.
Nurturing leadership believes in long arcs and deep roots. Patience is a radical act in a world that celebrates TLDR (too long; didn’t read) and ASAP (as soon as possible) as hallmarks of efficiency and achievement. Plants and children don’t grow in a day. People don’t need steroids for instant payoff but sustained care for enduring impact. Many of the leaders spoke about a constant tussle between the pressure for quick profits versus the patience needed to grow business and talent. Mature leaders have the discernment to know when to prune the weeds and when to persevere with a flowering plant. Patience shows up as a belief in another’s potential when you act as a mentor or coach. Patience is the golden pause between periods of frenetic activity when you give time for deep reflection. Patience is the safety net you provide for people as you let them learn from failures and try again the next time.
Empathy was the quality that was mentioned most often among the leaders we interviewed. One of the leaders said, “People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Empathy fuels connection. A 2023 EY Empathy in Business Survey showed that 88% of respondents linked empathetic leadership to increased efficiency, 87% to boosts in creativity and innovation. The leader who is self-aware and can help others manage and regulate their emotions is able to generate better results.
Nurturing leadership requires courage, discipline and a strong sense of purpose. Hope rather than cynicism, bitterness, resignation and anger leads to a better and a more productive workplace. In times of change and disruption, people need leaders who are humble enough to listen, open enough to learn, patient enough to wait, and empathetic enough to lead from the heart. The future belongs to such leaders — those who know that nurturing is not a distraction from performance, but the surest path to it.
Nirupama Subramanian is a leadership coach, facilitator and Founder of Powerfulife Solutions. Rajesh Ramakrishnan is an advisory consultant, coach and former MD of Perfetti Van Melle India. The views expressed are personal