26/01/2024
𝗡𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 - 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲?
There are all kinds of leaders in our world, just like there are all kinds of humans.
Some leaders have an innate ability to connect with others and have empathy for others, while some leaders will lack this fundamental sense of humanity.
We have all been shaped differently by the conditioning of our upbringing. Factors such as socioeconomic status, religion, culture, society and our parents shape us and make us who we are.
If a leader has grown up in a home that lacked empathy, he might not have been taught how to feel it or express it.
He might be closed down and now is leading hyper rational, solely facts and figures oriented and might be missing the human centred messages between the lines.
It is said that some of the best known entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, did or do not have a lot of empathy to share.
𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡?
For sure not!
So, why should we need empathy in business?
Because the number of leaders out there, who are so genius about what they are doing - yes, talking about Steve and Elon - that it clearly outweighs their lack of empathy, can probably be counted on 2 fingers.
All others are in danger of creating a toxic environment where employees might feel unsupported and undervalued, which risks high fluctuation rates, low ambition and a poor performance.
The whole atmosphere around those leaders feels kind of cold, un-organic and not inviting, although they are honestly trying their best.
The good news is: Empathy can be learned, we can still activate those missing mirror neurons much later in life.
By training habits like:
✔️ Active listening
✔️ Paying attention to body language
✔️ Asking others honestly about their wellbeing (and reserving time for the answer)
✔️ Sensing our own feelings and expressing them
… we can learn to pick up cues from others.
However, to train empathy takes time, especially as it has become common in adult society to not openly show one's own feelings to the outside, a fact that makes the learning terrain more bumpy.
Empathy is the needed ingredient to understanding another person’s perspective, which is the basis of mutual understanding, cooperation and long term peace.
When disagreements or curveballs come our way, which they inevitably do, if we have power over someone and dominate the conversation and outcome, we will never have the opportunity to hear or understand someone else’s perspective.
The incredible thing that happens when we have empathy for a team member who did not act the way we wished him to do,is that we have an opportunity to learn, and learning always means growth.
So what do you think: Do we really need more empathy in the business world? Or is empathic leadership simply overrated? Please share, if you will.