“Empathy is a respectful understanding of what others are experiencing.”
— Marshall B. Rosenberg
Your high-performing employee missed her deadline for a report. In the years you have been working together, this is a first. Instead of reprimanding her, you decide to approach a conversation with her from a place of curiosity. “Why would you miss your deadline and why didn’t you feel comfortable telling me you were behind?” You learn that she is balancing caring for her sick mother, taking care of three kids, and getting over a cold. You tell her to delegate the report and take the rest of the week off to rest. She comes back the next week with renewed energy and focus, and you know that in the future she will be more willing to talk to you about personal situations that may affect her work so you can find a solution together before any deadlines are missed. This is the power of empathetic leadership.
Empathy as a Leadership Skill
When listing important leadership skills, most people think of strength, conflict resolution, decision-making, advocacy, teamwork, and communication. These are all important, but at the root of these skills is the ability to connect with others. Empathy, or the ability to resonate with another individual’s experience, is the often-forgotten key to building stronger teams.
Intellectual empathy involves the capacity to understand another person’s perspective in various situations, while also retaining your own viewpoint and respectfully acknowledging the disparity between the two realities. Affective empathy, on the other hand, entails empathetically connecting with another individual’s emotions in a constructive manner, whether through observing their behavior or listening to their feelings. Both types of empathy are crucial for workplace leaders and can be honed through practice and self-awareness.
The Long-Term Benefits of Empathy-Driven Leadership
The company culture created by your leadership team has a direct impact on the long-term success of an organization. Taking on a relationship-focused leadership style can help create a healthier workplace environment that fosters inclusion and collaboration. Employees who are valued are more likely to be satisfied in their careers and enthusiastically contribute to the success of the organization.
Tips for Practicing Empathy in Leadership
Conflict Resolution: Conflict is inevitable, but leading with empathy will help you better navigate challenges as they arise. Create a productive space for everyone involved to share their perspective. When you understand the underlying emotions behind someone’s behavior, you can use that information to find a solution.
Team Building: When team members know that you are listening to them to seek to understand their perspective, they tend to be more open and honest with you. Healthy workplace relationships thrive on trust and mutual understanding. It’s good to remember that everyone is on the same team working towards a common goal.
Active Listening: It takes a great deal of self-awareness to remove internal biases and opinions when listening to others, but it’s important to hear someone’s perspective to be able to relate to their experience.
Decision-Making: Effective leaders make decisions based on facts and strategy instead of emotional whims. Your employees’ and team members’ feelings about a situation are as valid as yours are. Take all of this information into consideration before arriving at a final decision.
Fostering Empathy Through Leadership Training
At Front Line Leadership, we have equipped over 15,000 individuals at over 300 companies with the tools and training they need to be effective leaders in their industries. Our flexible leadership training modules are designed to develop skills in feedback, coaching, conflict management, and listening through real-world scenarios. Contact Front Line Leadership to request a quote for your organization.