A few days ago, I was interviewed by a reporter about the topic of empathy in leadership. Sadly, it appears with each passing day that we’re moving further and further away from understanding the importance empathy plays in how we lead, as well as in how we connect with others who share different viewpoints, perspectives, lifestyles, and values.
Whether it’s remarks from business leaders shared online or during a conference call, or the conduct and behaviour of various world leaders, it seems like we’re starting to lose sight for just how important empathy in leadership is, both in terms of the kind of leader we want to be and in terms of the deleterious impact a lack of empathy can have on our organization and country.
Getting clear on what empathy in leadership is all about
But first, let’s be clear about what empathy is. Most of us have probably heard the phrase of “walking in someone else’s shoes” and this is essentially what empathy refers to in the context of leadership. Namely, empathy in leadership is about understanding the realities our employees face. Of making them feel heard and understood [
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Now in my experience working with leaders across Canada and the US, what I’ve found trips most leaders up is that they conflate understanding the challenges and obstacles their employees face with now having an obligation to do something about it. And this is why many of them pull back because they know in most cases, they don’t have the time and resources to address the concerns of each and every employee.
And that’s why it’s important that we gain some clarity here about empathy in leadership. That it’s not going to mean you’re now obligated to do more. Rather, the goal is for employees to see and feel that those in charge are aware of the challenges and obstacles they have to navigate on a daily basis and with this greater clarity, shift and prioritize the efforts and measures you do employ so as to truly leverage your employees’ abilities to overcome and succeed in their collective efforts.
And if that doesn’t make the case for why we need to bring more empathy to your leadership, here are three powerful benefits for what this approach can create in how you lead:
1. Empathy in leadership generates greater productivity
As I wrote above, the one thing that need to recognize is that at it’s heart, empathy in leadership is about making our employees feel heard and understood. But what it also provides us with is insights into what we should be doing to improve employee engagement levels in our organization.
I’ve given many talks on the issue of employee engagement and time and again, I’ve had leaders share with me their frustrations of how the various initiatives they took on to improve employee morale failed to make a lasting difference. What many of these leaders are missing is that they’re putting their efforts into areas that don’t really matter to their employees.
Bringing more empathy into our leadership allows us to better understand what matters to our employees and what drives them to excel [Share on Twitter].
Consequently, we not only can improve employee engagement levels, but we get the real benefit of generating greater productivity because of our greater understanding of our employees’ needs and their reality.
2. Empathy in leadership boosts organizational growth
As I mentioned during my interview with the reporter, whether your industry is feeling it yet or not, the truth is that a war for talent is fast approaching and consequently, leaders and their organizations are going to be facing an uphill battle, not only to attract key talent they need to achieve their objectives, but to retain the talent they currently have who might start looking for greener pastures.
Again, what’s needed here is a mind-shift where we stop referring to talent in terms of exclusivity, one where we cater to a select few “A-players” in our team at the expense of the rest of our employees.
And this is where empathy plays another key role as empathy expands your focus from just those select few to identifying the potential of every employee, and how you can develop and nurture that potential to boost growth in your organization.
Empathy encourages leaders to develop the talent of every employee, as they now see the whole person and not just what they do [Share on Twitter].
3. Empathy in leadership drives success
In my previous piece, I wrote about four questions that every leader should ask themselves to ensure they are successful in their ability to lead others. Among the questions I shared was this one – do you still care?
And this question is without a doubt anchored in our ability to empathize as leaders because as I wrote in that piece, we can’t expect our employees to give their best efforts, to care beyond the paycheck they receive for the work they do, if we as leaders don’t care about them and what we need them to accomplish if we are to collectively succeed.
If we want to be the kind of leader we see ourselves as, one who not only achieves the objectives and goals we set out, but one under which employees exceed their expectations of what they can accomplish, we need to use our sense of empathy to build those bridges of understanding and awareness that will ensure we’re all on the same page, focused on a common goal we all want to achieve.
Empathy allows us to aspire to be the leader we want to be: someone who brings out the best in those they lead and rallies them around a shared vision of the future [Share on Twitter].
Now I’m sure there might be some hesitations still, even after reading all the benefits that come with greater empathy in leadership, specifically one of whether leaders can actually demonstrate greater empathy in their leadership. So allow me to leave you with this one last note of encouragement – the truth is the ability to empathize exists in all of us. We just have to put more effort in applying it beyond those we feel an affinity for [Share on Twitter].
And again, this is easy to see in action, as evidenced by the global reaction to the plight of those 12 Thai boys trapped in the cave a few weeks ago and the collective elation when all of them were brought out to safety. Even in the days after their rescue, there were follow-up reports where we sought reassurance that they’d be okay. It was only when the boys themselves finally spoke in public showing the world that they’d be okay that our attention drifted elsewhere.
This is what empathy looks like in action. Obviously, outside of the rescue teams, there was nothing any of us could do about their situation. But that didn’t mean that we didn’t care or that we weren’t emotionally invested in their plight.
If we can demonstrate such solidarity and hope towards the safety and well-being of a group of boys trapped in a cave halfway around the world, then it’s in each of us to demonstrate greater awareness, sensitivity, and understanding to the challenges those around us face, and when applicable, how we might lend a helping hand to help make things better.