When it comes to leadership, there are certain topics that inevitably come up regardless of what industry you operate in. Over the past month, one of the topics I’ve been addressing with leaders is the importance of empathy in leadership, which is why it’s the focus of this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series. Specifically, something emotionally intelligent leaders recognize as being critical to building relationships with their employees in order to drive success and growth in their organization.
A few weeks ago, I gave a two day workshop on the empathy in leadership and this was followed by several conversations with executives from a wide range of industries where the topic of empathy in leadership arose in conversations around how to effectively create a hybrid work environment in their organization. After conducting this workshop and speaking with these VPs, I realized I hadn’t addressed the greater role empathy needs to play in this evolution to how we’ll work going forward post-pandemic.
But rather than address some of the ideas I discuss in my workshop or which came up in my conversations with these seasoned leaders, I wanted to instead share an important finding from the neuroscience studies as I think it’s not only important for helping us to understand how we can better connect and relate to those in our team, but how it can help us also understand why we’re seeing so much divisiveness and what role we as leaders can play to help create these spaces for people to listen so others can feel heard.
I expect this will be the first of several episodes where I’ll delve into the importance of empathy in leadership. So I hope this first foray into this increasing important topic with regards to how we can succeed at leadership as our workplaces and the way we work continue to evolve and change.
Noteworthy links:
- Learn more about my leadership workshop on the power of empathy in leadership.
- Read my piece: Empathy in Leadership – 10 Reasons Why It Matters.
This was a great podcast. This concept of tunnel vision when experiencing intense emotions and the reality of memories is fascinating. Connecting on an emotional level with those we lead is so critical. I agree that flexibility in the workplace is the number one way an organization can display empathy to employees.
Thanks Emily! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this subject.