Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy, 4 (1) April 2023, 23-40
ISSN: 2722-3981 (Print), ISSN: 2722-3973 (Online)
Available Online at https://journal.ppishk.org/index.php/jcgpp

COVID-19 Pandemic and Compassionate Leadership: Lessons Learned
from Woman in Local Governance
Andi Tenri Sompa1*, Abdillah Abdillah2, Zahra Ahmadi3
1 Department of Government Studies, Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, Indonesia
2 Center for Decentralization and Participatory Development Research, Faculty of Social and Political

Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia

3 Department of Psychology, University of Tehran, Kish International Campus, Iran

*Corresponding Author Email: tenri@ulm.ac.id

Received: 26 December 2022; Revised: 25 January 2023; Accepted: 30 January 2023

Abstract
This study aims to explore the leadership of Indah Putri Indriani as a regent within the
North Luwu Regency Government in the process of compassionate leadership in facing
the challenges of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in North Luwu Regency.
This research method is exploratory-qualitative with a phenomenological approach in
exploring the process of compassionate leadership in facing the threat of the COVID-19
pandemic in North Luwu Regency. The results of this study indicate that the COVID-19
pandemic in the North Luwu Regency highlights the need for leaders to apply the
principle of compassion in order to be able to make decisions and programmes that
encourage integrated and appropriate cross-sectoral responses, taking into account
contextual factors in their implementation. In handling the Corona Virus Disease 2019,
the government of North Luwu Regency created a cooperation programme with UNICEF
Indonesia and Geneva Madani in North Luwu Regency. Then, from these two programs,
create a home medicine budget allocation programme for people affected by the Corona
Virus Disease 2019 in North Luwu Regency, highlighting the reduction of suffering and
difficulties for local people in North Luwu Regency. This research contributes to
providing knowledge about lessons learned from local governments dealing with
difficult situations such as the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 by prioritising the mindset
and attitude of compassionate leadership. This approach emphasises a better
understanding of the real needs and difficulties faced by the community.
Keywords: Compassionate Leadership; COVID-19; Local Governance; Woman
Copyright © 2023 by Authors, Published by Pusat Penelitian Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora
Kontemporer, Indonesia. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
How to Cite: Sompa, A. T., Abdillah, A., & Ahmadi, Z. (2023). COVID-19 Pandemic and Compassionate
Leadership: Lessons Learned from Woman in Local Governance. Journal of Contemporary Governance and
Public Policy, 4(1), 23-40. https://doi.org/10.46507/jcgpp.v4i1.93
Permalink/DOI: https://doi.org/10.46507/jcgpp.v4i1.93

Introduction
The world situation from the end of 2019 to 2022 facing the COVID-19 pandemic
has created an alarming condition and created governance obstacles in 195 countries
around the world. In this crisis situation, it was revealed that the stability of an effective
and efficient system was hampered due to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
(Binagwaho, 2020; Devi et al., 2020; Javed et al., 2020; Tulenko & Vervoort, 2020).
According to some experts, the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is the most
meaningful current pandemic in the last 100 years. This is none other than because of the
many deaths that occur, although not as bad as AIDS, which has killed 32 million people
(Ali et al., 2020; Rudrapal et al., 2020). However, the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID19), whose deployment happened so quickly and had such a negative impact on the
economy, was unprecedented, and as a result, the world experienced a global lockdown
in almost all parts of the world (ElBagoury et al., 2021; Le et al., 2020).
The failure of leadership to face the COVID-19 attack has had an impact on
increasing community vulnerability, not only in public health cases but also in the socioeconomic community (Bodrud-Doza et al., 2020; Bukuluki et al., 2020). In this situation,
leaders are needed who can understand the conditions and needs of the community and
have insight into good governance techniques, as well as implement preparedness
programmes and strategies in response to difficult conditions in dealing with bad global
situations and governance failures due to incompetent leaders (Binagwaho, 2020;
Denters & Rose, 2005; Eden & Wagstaff, 2021). Appropriate handling provides many
tools that government leaders can use to respond to the unique situation resulting from
the COVID-19 pandemic in any country. This instrument helps to assess effectively in
community, regional, provincial, national, and international contexts in order to form
evidence-based responses to even unexpected threats such as Corona Virus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) (Dzigbede et al., 2020; Guest et al., 2020). This can also encourage integrated
multi-sectoral coordination to ensure a healthy community and the realisation of quality
services (Binagwaho, 2020; Mulyasari & Shaw, 2017) and taking a scientific approach to
responding to the conditions required in difficult times due to the Corona Virus Disease
2019 (COVID-19) (Duque Franco et al., 2020; Tittonell et al., 2021). The literature review,
depicted in Figure 1 (Overlay Visualization), identifies and analyses research problems
using the keywords "compassionate women and leadership" from 2010 to 2022,
discovering novelty research in 2014 up to 2017 on: (1) leadership as a servant; (2)
leadership in responding to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); (3) gender and
women's politics; (4) women's leadership positions and candidate evaluation; and (5)
compassionate leadership. Identification and analysis of this data form the basis of this
study, which focuses on the leadership of Indah Putri Indriani as a Regent of the North
Luwu Regency Government in the process of compassionate leadership in facing the
challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Luwu Regency.
The purpose of compassionate leadership is to improve the welfare of society,
protect society in difficult situations, and prevent the adverse effects of the COVID-19
pandemic, such as death (de Zulueta, 2021; Shuck et al., 2019). The complex challenges

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posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced all government organisations to change
processes, governance, and handling patterns to deal with difficult situations in society
that require more solutions (Baudier et al., 2021; Losekann & Milanez, 2021).
Improvements in sophisticated governance instruments, stakeholder synergy, and
collaborative action by those willing to work tirelessly with quick steps to solve problems
in difficult situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Baudier et al., 2021; Musa, 2022).
Collaboration and society-based participation programmes are carried out to create
improvements that were previously slow to develop in the face of the challenges of the
surge in the COVID-19 pandemic in the regions (Denters & Rose, 2005; Rudrapal et al.,
2020).

Figure 1. Vosviewer Identification and Analysis of Relevant and Related Research
Source: Analysis Using Vosviewer (2022)
The rapid spike in COVID-19 cases after the flash flood disaster in July 2020 and
after the election on December 9, 2020, had raised concerns regarding the handling of
COVID-19 in North Luwu Regency (Ebner & Iacovidou, 2021; Lukman, 2020b, 2021). The
thousands of cases and dozens of deaths are proof that SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID19, cannot be taken lightly and requires more comprehensive treatment. Beginning in
early 2021, when the COVID-19 vaccination programme started running, the handling of
the COVID-19 outbreak in North Luwu regency began to show very encouraging progress.
This is evidenced by the high recovery rate, which has now reached 95.42%, followed by
the reproduction rate of the virus being below 1% for the last week in the second week
of March 2021 and the hospital bed occupancy rate being less than 2.86% (Lukman,
2020b, 2021). The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in North Luwu
Regency proves that extraordinary handling is needed and ordinary handling is not
enough.
Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy

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The current COVID-19 pandemic has made us aware that the problem is not only
the health and socio-economic crises and the level of sophistication of the health sector,
but also the diversity of models for handling a country or region that will make it
successful in managing crises in society (Dzigbede et al., 2020; Padeiro et al., 2021; Ratzan
et al., 2020). In other words, it is about courage and the ability to quickly implement good
solutions to difficult situations in society. The right decision-making, compassion, and
evidence-based courage are what is needed in leadership to manage threats such as the
Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and the unexpected problems that will occur
in the future (Binagwaho, 2020; Dzigbede et al., 2020; Padeiro et al., 2021). Binagwaho,
A. (2020) suggests that to deal with unforeseen public crises, we need compassionate
leaders to outline scientific tenets to be able to make evidence-based decisions through
integrated multi-sector responses, taking into account contextual factors that influence
implementation. Furthermore, Simpson A.V. et al.'s (2022) study contends that
compassionate leadership is used synergistically to build resources and reduce suffering,
providing additional legitimacy in bringing government and leaders into society.
According to the research of de Zulueta, P. C. (2021) and West, M. A., & Chowla, R. (2017),
compassionate leadership is very helpful in dealing with crises in society. In fact,
women's leadership is essential for the welfare of the nation and even the world. Because
women are the ones who know the needs, problems, and solutions to the issues faced by
their own people. Therefore, the leadership and involvement of women in decisionmaking are very important. Phenomena such as the lack of representation of women in
politics, the encouragement of open politics in Indonesia, the alignment of women based
on needs, problems, and compassions, and the issue of gender equality in politics
highlight the importance of women's leadership in government and in making new
decisions in dealing with difficult situations such as the Corona Virus Disease 2019
(COVID-19).
Based on this phenomenon, the aim of this research was to explore the leadership
of Indah Putri Indriani as the Regent of the North Luwu Regency Government in the
process of compassionate leadership in facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic
in North Luwu Regency. The dangers of the current COVID-19 pandemic are of
unprecedented scope and demonstrate the need for courageous leaders, strong,
compassionate decisions that understand people's suffering, and evidence-based
interventions to effectively stop the spread of disease, save lives, and ensure the
alleviation of fear and worry in society. The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has
resulted in decreased income, work difficulties, and health threats, so a new approach is
needed to deal with the Corona Virus Disease 2019. This study proposes a new leadership
approach model in local government that is appropriate and required by the community
and government to contribute to good local governance and the implementation of
societal protection. Is Indah Putri Indriani's compassionate leadership as regent of North
Luwu Regency demonstrating her ability to deal with difficult situations like COVID-19?
At the same time, how are the process and approach to leadership used by Indah Putri
Indriani to rule as Regent in North Luwu Regency? This study looks at how Indah Putri

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Indriani led as a regent in the North Luwu Regency Government and how compassionate
leadership helped the North Luwu Regency deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research Methods
The research method employs a qualitative and exploratory mode with a
phenomenological approach (Creswell & Poth, 2016) to investigate Indah Putri Indriani's
leadership as Regent in the North Luwu Regency Government in the process of
compassionate leadership in facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in North
Luwu Regency. It demonstrates the need for courageous leaders and strong,
compassionate decisions that understand people's suffering and are evidence-based to
effectively stop the spread of disease, save lives, and ensure the alleviation of fear and
worry in the community, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic onslaught in
various regions that creates difficult situations in society. The COVID-19 pandemic has an
impact on decreasing income, difficulty working, and health threats to local society. Using
the theory of compassionate leadership as a response to the suffering caused by the
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in North Luwu Regency This study examines the
process of compassionate leadership by the North Luwu Regent in handling social,
economic, and public health suffering due to COVID-19 in the North Luwu Regency.

Figure 2. Nvivo 12 Pro Research Process Method
Source: Woolf & Silver (2017)
The locus of this research is the North Luwu Regency government under the
leadership of the Regent, Indah Putri Indriani (this research also tries to prove whether
the leadership of a woman as a regional head is compassionate leadership). Data
collection techniques in this research were field observations, literature studies
(exploring electronic and physical data on the topics studied), social media data needs,
and documentation through collecting documentary data obtained from books, journal
articles, government websites, social media government, government letters, and laws.
This technique is used to facilitate researchers in obtaining data sources without
requiring a lot of time, money, or effort. Although this technique has drawbacks that
require carefulness in selecting references in literature studies, these deficiencies are
minimised in in-depth interpretation and analysis through Nvivo 12 Pro, as identification
and analysis based on machine learning (artificial intelligence, or AI) are sufficient to

Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy

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produce the best conclusions and new insights regarding the topics studied. Referring to
what was stated by Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2018) regarding interactive analysis,
collecting research data, identifying data, reducing research data related to research
topics, and then drawing conclusions The analysis techniques in this study were also
assisted by the qualitative data analysis tool Nvivo 12 pro (Woolf & Silver, 2017) when
managing research data, such as the results of research observations, required social
media data, government websites, and government documents. This study also uses
Vosviewer to adjust for previous research issues. The steps in this study are shown in
Figure 2.
Results and Discussion
Leadership of Woman, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Local Government
in North Luwu Regency
In making a decision, a leader's insight or idea always includes and allows space for
every subordinate who wants to listen and raise arguments (Cain 1988; Gallagher &
Smith 1999). For everything that has a relationship with motivation, the leader always
provides direction and service to the wider community. In the step of maintaining a
relationship, what is meant is that a good relationship arises as a result of communication
between superiors and subordinates (Hollander, 2012; Pless, 2007). Leaders do not have
their own limits for themselves in mingling with each subordinate, and it can create
conditions that are conducive and harmonious (Hollander, 2012; Maak et al., 2021). From
this, we see that women deserve to be leaders. Figure 3 depicts the phenomenon of
women's leadership in local government, where women are more gentle, compassionate,
and empathetic than men (Denters & Rose, 2005).

Figure 3. The Focus of the Research Problem on the Compassionate Leadership of Indah
Putri Indriani as Regent in the Local Government of North Luwu Regency
Source: Analysis Using Nvivo12 Plus (2022)
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The Regent of North Luwu Regency, known as Indah Putri Indriani, was born in
Enrekang Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, on February 7, 1977. She became the
Regent of North Luwu in the period 2016–2021. She is the first woman to succeed as a
regional head in the South Sulawesi region, Indonesia. Previously, she was a deputy to the
regent of North Luwu for the 2010–2015 period, paired with Arifin Junaidi. Before
plunging into the world of politics, the Regent of North Luwu spent her time in academia.
This mother of two was recorded as having served as a lecturer in the undergraduate
programme at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Indonesia University, a lecturer
at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Bung Karno University, and a lecturer at the
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Muhammadiyah University Jakarta. In the 2016–
2021 regional head election for North Luwu Regency, the North Luwu Regent returned
to politics by becoming a regent alongside Muh. Thahar Rum as her deputy, and she is
now serving her second term as regent with her partner, Suayib Mansur. Currently, the
leadership of the regent of Indah Putri Indriani, North Luwu, is known as a
communicative and firm leader (Khatimah, 2022; Lukman, 2020b, 2022a; Ningrum &
Aisyah, 2022; Reid et al., 2014; Samsul & Qodir, 2021; Wibowo, 2021).
Based on the results of research by Ulandari et al. (2022), the leadership of the
North Luwu District Head is militant, which can be seen through her programme of
forming a Women Farmers Group in every village to empower women. With this desire,
the Women Farmers Group has been running as it should. In the theory proposed by
Pawirosumarto, S. et al. (2017), leadership is a method used in the leadership process
and implementation of the behaviour of a leader in order to influence others to act in
accordance with what is desired. This opinion is supported by the militant leadership of
the North Luwu Regent. Because the Regent of North Luwu is a leader who has the will
and determination to act to do something for the progress of the area she leads, she
prioritises communicative principles for her community (Khatimah, 2022; Lukman,
2021, 2022a, 2022b; Ningrum & Aisyah, 2022; Samsul & Qodir, 2021; Ulandari et al.,
2022; Wibowo, 2021).
The Governance of COVID-19 Handling in North Luwu Regency
The growth of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in North Luwu Regency
with an incidence rate of less than 1% in the past week is certainly very encouraging
(Lukman, 2020a, 2021, 2022b, 2022a). The North Luwu Regency Government explained
that all indicators of handling COVID-19 now show encouraging progress, except for the
positive rate indicator, which is still around 13%. The indicator that still needs to be taken
seriously is reducing the positive rate from 13% to 5%, according to WHO standards, of
course by increasing surveillance and testing tracing capabilities (Lukman, 2020a, 2020b,
2021, 2022b, 2022a). Another thing that was revealed is that there are currently 15 active
cases, or around 1.12%, which is supported by the high recovery rate, which now reaches
95.42%. One of the important indicators that things are going well in handling COVID-19
in North Luwu is the disappearance of worries in the community about the damage
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the presence of a leader in the midst of a

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difficult situation due to the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is critical (Lukman,
2020a, 2020b, 2021, 2022b, 2022a).
The governance of handling the coronavirus, or COVID-19, in North Luwu Regency
in collaboration with the central government takes the form of an additional regional
incentive fund of Rp. 14.9 billion. In South Sulawesi Province itself, there are only two
districts that received additional regional incentive funds, namely North Luwu and
Enrekang Regency. North Luwu Regency's efforts to speed up the handling of COVID-19
are seen as successful, so the central government gives it an extra Rp. 14.9 billion from
the regional incentive fund (Lukman, 2020a, 2020b, 2021, 2022b, 2022a).
The number of cases of the COVID-19 pandemic has reached 1,334. In detail, 1,273
recovered, 14 were self-isolating, one was treated at the hospital (RS), and 46 died. There
was an addition of one new case, but seven people were declared cured. For the North
Luwu zoning map, there are no more red zone sub-districts, two orange zone subdistricts, 10 yellow zones, and four green zones. Meanwhile, the North Luwu Regency
COVID-19 Task Force is still waiting for the mapping of the epidemic zoning from the
South Sulawesi Provincial Government, Indonesia. The Task Force is optimistic that
North Luwu Regency is in the yellow zone (Lukman, 2020a, 2020b, 2021, 2022b, 2022a).
Table 1 shows the COVID-19 monitoring data in North Luwu Regency.
Table 1. COVID-19 Monitoring Data in the Sub-District of North Luwu Regency
Source: Processed by Authors (2022)
Sub-District
Masamba
Baebunta
Baebunta Selatan
Sabbang
Sabbang Selatan
Sukamaju
Sukamaju Selatan
Bone-Bone
Tana Lili
Malangke
Malangke Barat
Mappadeceng
Limbong
Seko
Rampi
Total

Positive
290
192
50
47
29
147
64
92
81
43
48
155
4
24
22
1288

Die
8
4
1
1
2
10
5
5
3
2
0
4
0
0
1
46

According to Lukman (2021), the central government assessed that the North Luwu
government's COVID-19 budget management met the reporting criteria based on the
mandate of the Joint Decree (SKB) of the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of
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Finance, Central Government, Indonesia. This includes the handling of COVID-19, which
is considered good. The North Luwu Regency government is considered to meet the
criteria as mandated in the Joint Decree (SKB) of the Minister of Home Affairs and the
Minister of Finance, Central Government, Indonesia. There are two points where the
North Luwu Regency Government has succeeded in handling COVID-19, namely
completing the reallocation and refocusing of the regional government budget 2020
according to the Joint Decree of the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Finance,
Central Government, Indonesia, as well as the handling of COVID-19, which has been very
well evaluated (Lukman, 2020a, 2020b, 2021, 2022b, 2022a).
At the point of reallocation and refocusing of the 2020 regional revenue and
expenditure budget according to the Joint Decree of the Minister of Home Affairs and the
Minister of Finance, Central Government, Indonesia, as well as the North Luwu Regency
Government reporting system being rated good, timely, reported regularly, and of course
according to existing regulations And the progress of handling COVID-19 is also
considered good because it continues to be reported at any time, related to efforts to
handle COVID-19 that are being pursued with the North Luwu Regency government
under the leadership of Regent Indah Putri Indriani. The Regional Incentive Fund of Rp
14.9 billion will later be allocated for regional and national economic recovery activities,
prevention, and further handling of COVID-19, including other social assistance. So, the
allocation is based on the existing implementation instructions. For economic recovery,
for example, there is the empowerment of micro, small, and medium enterprises
(MSMEs). Not only the empowerment of MSMEs but also market facilities and
infrastructure, tourism, and health are part of the allocation of the Regional Incentive
Fund. In addition, market facilities and infrastructure are also allocated there. This
includes encouraging tourism as a source of regional economics so that the wheels of the
economy will return to normal in North Luwu Regency (Lukman, 2020a, 2020b, 2021,
2022b, 2022a). Table 2 describes various programmes and forms of handling to deal with
the COVID-19 pandemic in order to reduce the negative impact of difficult situations that
occur in the society of North Luwu Regency.
During her leadership period, the Regent of North Luwu was a female leader who
was very enthusiastic and passionate in carrying out her leadership period (Khatimah,
2022; Lukman, 2020b, 2021, 2022a, 2022b; Ningrum & Aisyah, 2022; Samsul & Qodir,
2021; Ulandari et al., 2022; Wibowo, 2021); willing to do something She considered
necessary for the progress or Is it in terms of development, protection, equity, or
economic stability for the people of North Luwu Regency, who are facing a difficult
situation as a result of the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) (Musa 2022)? Based
on the research data analysis, the leadership process of the Regent of Indah Putri Indriani
in the North Luwu Regency Government, namely seeking to improve discipline, policy
compliance, and accountability of her leadership with compassion for the subordinates
she leads (Beaton et al., 2022; Crosweller, 2022; Warren et al., 2022), Figure 4 shows the
success of the leadership process of the Indah Putri Indriani Regent within the North
Luwu Regency Government, seen as (1) motherhood, (2) iron woman, (3) the Regent who
chose leadership skills [disciplined, responsible, and conscientious], and (4) influence as
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the full identity of women. The compassionate leadership of the Regent of North Luwu
Regency in dealing with the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by prioritising
human rights in people's lives, Create a collaborative programme for Geneva Madani and
UNICEF Indonesia. community and renovate community houses affected by COVID-19 in
North Luwu Regency.
Table 2. Programs and Forms of Handling COVID-19 Pandemic by the North Luwu
Regency Government
Source: Processed by Authors (2022)
North Luwu Regency Local
Information
Government Program
Pilot Project Program cooperation This activity was held in collaboration
between UNICEF Indonesia and Geneva with UNICEF Indonesia, Geneva Madani,
Madani
the
South
Sulawesi
Provincial
Government, the North Luwu Regency
Government, and the Indonesian Red
Cross in handling the COVID-19 in North
Luwu. The North Luwu Regency
Government encourages the socialisation
of the benefits of vaccines to protect and
explain to the public the benefits of
vaccines for health and, at the same time,
to protect the public from hoaxes and
misinformation about vaccinations and
the COVID-19 in the North Luwu Regency
society, where this programme empowers
the society and educates the people of
North Luwu.
Home Surgery Program for the society
The house renovation programme is a
form of attention from the North Luwu
Local Government to the underprivileged
communities affected by the COVID-19.
This can be seen with the budget
allocation for the stimulant programme
for uninhabitable houses in the regional
government budget for 2020, which
includes as many as 207 units.
Considering the Regional Government
Budget I 2020 reallocation due to the
COVID-19.

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Figure 4. Compassionate Leadership of the Regent in the North Luwu Regency
Source: Analysis Using Nvivo12 Plus (2022)
Based on the researcher's analysis, the North Luwu Regency Government
prioritises the people's lives in terms of HAM (human rights), which are usually not
touched by some local governments in Indonesia (Hodson, 2020; Lukman, 2022a; Musa,
2022). The North Luwu Regency Government took important steps, such as before the
first case, and had already implemented social restrictions to limit the spread of diseases
such as Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), launching a lockdown until large-scale
social restrictions (PSBB) were in place when the first case was confirmed, while also
providing social support such as allocation of funds or budgets to handle the adverse
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable society (Lukman, 2020a). Corona Virus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) indicates the need for leaders to apply the principles of
compassion and insight to be able to make decisions and programs to encourage
integrated and appropriate multi-sectoral responses, taking into account contextual
factors that influence implementation, such as the North Luwu Regency government
making the UNICEF Indonesia Joint Work Program Geneva Madani in North Luwu
Regency and the budget allocation programme for home remedies for people affected by
the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in North Luwu.
According to Maak, T. et al. (2021) and Windsor, L. C. et al. (2020), compassionate
leadership is where a leader is able to make all her citizens support policies that have
Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy

33

been decided compassionately in the midst of a hard time due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
at the same time where a female leader needs to make policies quickly. The
compassionate leadership of the Regent of Indah Putri Indriani in the North Luwu
Regency Government is proven by promoting collaborative, empathetic, communicative,
and responsive actions for every community interest in the process of handling the
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in North Luwu. In Figure 4, it can be explained
that the compassionate leadership of Regent Indah Putri Indriani within the North Luwu
Regency Government is proven by prioritising collaborative, empathetic, communicative,
and responsive actions for every community interest in the process of handling the
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in North Luwu. Where the compassionate
leadership model can be seen in the actions of the motherhood as a female leader and
also as a militant leader (The Iron Maiden) during the COVID-19 pandemic while serving
as Regent of North Luwu Regency, it received special attention from the people of North
Luwu Regency by establishing various community-based programmes in collaboration
with several non-governmental organisations.
Compassionate Leadership, Governance and Legitimating Actions
The study of de Zulueta (2021) and the study of Shuck, B. et al. (2019) explain that
compassionate leadership can be seen in distinct ways but is basically a dynamic and
iterative process guided by four important components, namely: 1) awareness and
openness to the suffering of others; 2) empathic and imaginative attention that allows
one to understand the suffering of others (e.g., stepping into their shoes); 3) a deep
motivation to relieve suffering in a wise and appropriate way that leads to acts of
compassion; and 4) compassion flows inward and outward, as well as reciprocity
between individuals. Compassionate leadership fosters compassion for others and
involves positive emotions and a rational mindset.
Based on the field findings and from the various research sources, which have gone
through the data collection process as well as analysis, it is shown that the leadership of
the North Luwu Regency Regent from the community's point of view is more caring,
considerate, compassionate, and more protective (Khatimah, 2022; Lukman, 2020a,
2020b, 2021, 2022a, 2022b; Ulandari et al., 2022). Based on the theory and a model of
compassionate leadership (Binagwaho, 2020; Shuck et al., 2019; Simpson et al., 2022;
West & Chowla, 2017), the Regent of North Luwu Regency deserves to be described as a
leader who understands the feelings and suffering of her people and puts the interests of
society first in difficult times such as the COVID-19 in North Luwu.
Using the evidence of the compassionate leadership of the Regent of North Luwu
found by researchers through observation, observation, and literature study, the authors
conclude that: (1) The motherhood model concluded that the Regent of North Luwu is a
leader who has a high sense of sympathy for her community or society, who are outside
their jurisdiction. Within this scope, the Regent of North Luwu also showed her sympathy
by being easily invited to communicate, so that she became known as a leader who could
listen to all aspirations issued by her community, whether in the form of suggestions or
criticism. (2) The Iron Maiden model concluded that a Regent of North Luwu is a woman

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who has a firm nature and positive emotions during her leadership period. The assertive
nature of the North Luwu Regent makes many people like her leadership. The North
Luwu Regent does not discriminate against either the community or her own family and
remains firm in her stance. The Regent of North Luwu Regency was a female leader who
was enthusiastic and passionate about her leadership period, willing to do anything for
the progress or development of the area she was leading, both in terms of development
and the economy in North Luwu Regency (Beaton et al., 2022; Ulandari et al., 2022). (3)
Leadership skills from a woman leader who has a disciplined, responsible, and thorough
leadership style in local government in North Luwu Regency, accomplished two points,
namely, completing the reallocation and refocusing of the regional revenue and
expenditure budget in 2020 as well as the performance of handling COVID-19, which is
considered very good with proper and responsible governance as well as compassion for
the society of North Luwu Regency (Lukman, 2021; Ningrum & Aisyah, 2022; Prastio et
al., 2021; Samsul & Qodir, 2021; Wibowo, 2021). (4) The strengthening of identity carried
out by Indah Putri Indriani (Regent of North Luwu) for the representation of women in
politics and government aims to strengthen affirmative action in the regional head
elections in North Luwu so that the benefits are not only for individuals who construct
their identities but can also provide benefits for the general public. for Indah Putri
Indriani to strengthen her female identity to become a full-power identity in the
contestation of local politics and government so as to help the compassionate group face
all kinds of challenges and tests together. This also has a positive impact on strengthening
the identity of women in the community, as illustrated by the formation of women's
organisations in the Smart Kartini Women Farmers Group in every village for the
empowerment of women. Women's groups that are members of organisations are solid
and institutionalised in fighting for women's rights (Aldossari & Calvard, 2022; Collins,
2022; Kambo, 2017; Ningrum & Aisyah, 2022; Samsul & Qodir, 2021; Wibowo, 2021).
Conclusion
In this study, we view compassionate leadership as a dynamic and iterative process
with four components: 1) awareness and openness to the suffering of others; 2) empathic
and imaginative attention that allows one to understand the suffering of others (e.g.,
stepping into their shoes); 3) a deep motivation to relieve suffering in a wise and
appropriate way that leads to acts of compassion; and 4) compassion that flows inward
(self-compassion) and outward, as well as reciprocity between individuals.
Compassionate leadership fosters compassion for others, and it involves positive
emotions and an approach (not withdrawal) mindset. The compassionate leadership of
Indah Putri Indriani (Regent of North Luwu Regency) in North Luwu has the following
characteristics: (1) The Mother (the motherhood) is a leader who has a high sense of
sympathy for the community or people who are outside her leadership area; and (2) The
Iron Maiden (the woman iron) is a female leader who has a firm nature and positive
emotions while leading. Many people admire the Regent of North Luwu's assertive
leadership; the Regent of North Luwu does not discriminate against the community or

Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy

35

her own family and maintains a firm stance; she is (3) a female leader with a disciplined,
responsible, and conscientious leadership style in local government in North Luwu
Regency; and (4) a leader who pays attention to and cares about the rights of women and
children in North Luwu Regency. The case of Indah Putri Indriani as the North Luwu
Regency Regent shows the integration of compassionate leadership through the practise
of fostering a paradoxical dimension of power legitimacy, inclusiveness with rationality,
and idealism with pragmatism in local government. In short, what Regent Indah Putri
Indriani has shown in the North Luwu Regency Government is compassionate leadership
(that is, people who are kind, empathetic, caring, and passionate about protecting and
developing their region), supported through the use of the dimension of the legitimacy of
paradoxical power as regional head in North Luwu Regency, to build synergistic public
trust and overcome difficulties in the community or society due to the Corona Virus
Disease 2019 that occurred. Therefore, we propose that compassionate leadership is an
appropriate leadership model. Because of the current Corona Virus Disease 2019,
compassionate leadership is essential in developing appropriate preparedness and
response strategies, as well as saving lives, removing concerns, and humanising in
difficult circumstances.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank our colleagues from Universitas Lambung Mangkurat,
Indonesia; Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia; and the University of Tehran, Kish
International Campus, Iran, who have helped the authors complete this manuscript until
it is published. Thanks also to those who helped directly or indirectly, of which the
authors cannot mention all of them.
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