The Importance Of Empathy In Leadership: How To Lead With Compassion And Understanding In 2023
This year, business leaders face inflation, market uncertainty, recession fears, high employee turnover rates, and ongoing supply chain issues. Empathy will be an essential leadership skill as pressure mounts to preserve workplace stability. How can companies seek to build solid and compassionate workplace cultures amidst the chaos?
For starters, knowing the difference between showing sympathy and demonstrating empathy can help. Leaders who sympathize can feel a sense of care for someone going through a difficult time. Sympathetic leaders might even show that support by donating to a cause or sharing information on social media.
Leaders who empathize, however, demonstrate the ability to identify and share in the feelings others experience. In other words, empathy is sympathy internalized, making leaders not only more self-aware but more thoughtful and strategic in their business decisions.
Empathetic leadership should be at the core of day-to-day operations, but many corporations still need to catch up.
Why Empathy Needs to Be an Essential Leadership Skill
Rather than stress the importance of empathy in their leadership approach, some prefer to manage with values like courage, vision, and perseverance. Empathy is a misleading term, too often confused with leniency.
But while in-office work has helped provide a sense of structure and stability, workers’ anxiety has peaked since the pandemic. What corporations see is a bigger call to action: it’s time for leaders to address the social issues affecting organizational well-being.
Good leaders show strength, adaptability, and creativity. But studies show that empathy is the key to earning trust, and the ability to earn trust is a skill that even good leaders may lack.
Empathetic Leadership Traits
Regardless of style, leadership requires hierarchy within power dynamics or rather, someone having authority over another. It’s why empathy is harder to demonstrate in the workplace, where tough calls need to be made despite best efforts.
Empathetic leadership sees the individual within the collaborative. Leaders who empathize know that invisible struggles exist and seek ways to understand them. More importantly, they communicate those intentions effectively.
Empathy contributes to emotional intelligence. Other traits of empathetic leadership include:
Active Listening: Rather than just listening to what is said, leaders process the meaning of words and the needs behind them. They are fully present and engaged in the conversation. They try to understand, not just respond.
Authenticity: Outward expressions align with internal values. Empathetic leaders are true to themselves in their interactions with others. They don’t say whatever it takes to improve the situation. They are honest when problems don’t have immediate solutions.
Perspective Awareness: Empathetic leaders look at situations from multiple perspectives or angles. They try to consider the circumstances objectively, getting to the heart of the matter to create a more genuine picture.
Emotional Flexibility: Leaders can face the emotions of others without succumbing to the pressure. They value their team’s emotional needs. An empathetic leader might personally feel frustrated but will never make employees feel devalued. Likewise, compassionate leaders understand that their work is not more important than the personal lives of their employees.
Fostering an Empathetic and Compassionate Workplace
The buck doesn’t stop at empathetic leadership when it comes to making a long-lasting impact on your organization’s well-being. Empathy and compassion must be the core values driving your workplace’s culture, with leaders setting positive examples for their teams.
Empathetic work cultures encourage positive feedback, recognition, and consistent appreciation. When people feel regularly valued, they feel part of a workplace community. Healthy workplace communities make everyday habits out of giving praise and offering gratitude.
However, empathetic leadership isn’t just about spreading joy and positivity. It’s also about leading others to feel empathy towards themselves as much as they do each other. Here are some team-building exercises that are simple and effective:
Complete the Sentences:
Have your team complete these statements on paper, either privately or with each other:
“I make a difference when I… ”
“I am important to the team because… ”
“I wish others were more patient with me when it comes to… ”
“I need more support with… ”
Stepping In:
Build a circle with your team, and ask members to step inside the ring when they identify or relate to a statement. Afterward, members rejoin the circle. Start with fun statements that have low stakes, increasing in importance as people get comfortable:
“I enjoy quiet evenings on the weekends.”
“When I work from home, I take regular dance breaks.”
“I feel like I have a good work/life balance.”
“I am comfortable asking for more time on projects.”
“I feel aligned in the work I’m doing”
…and so on.
“Most Likely” Superlatives
Playing superlatives is a great way to make team members feel seen. Have teams vote on “Most Likely” statements or have them silently point to the person who is “Most Likely.” Come up with silly superlatives to get people to loosen up about work matters. Or come up with sincere superlatives that help people learn more about each other:
Most likely to sleep through an earthquake
Most likely to fight aliens and win
Most likely to show up the most espresso shots in their Starbucks
Most likely to foster an abandoned kitten that shows up in the parking lot
You can also hold “awards ceremonies” and hand out certificates for:
The Librarian Award: Best at getting work meetings back on track
The 411 Award: Always knows what’s happening
The Evel Knievel Award: Best at taking risks
The Envelope Award: For the person who “pushed the envelope” or went above and beyond on a recent project
Airing Empathetic Grievances at Work
It’s hard to be vulnerable with colleagues. Still, when people feel stuck in difficult situations, they will likely experience burnout and low morale. In addition, repressing frustration can lead to toxic workplaces, passive aggressiveness, and resentment.
Ask people to pair up and think over a frustrating problem at work or in their lives. Each pair has a few minutes to talk, with each person getting a turn. Set some safety rules beforehand, like making sure no one makes it personal by discussing a specific colleague.
The first person speaks, and the second person practices active listening by taking note of the other person’s values. For instance, if someone feels frustrated when interrupted at their desk, they value their ability to focus. Someone who is disappointed by the lack of professional development opportunities means they value career growth.
Airing out frustrations in a safe space helps defuse workplace tension and helps promote an empathetic shift in mindset. Empathetic leadership starts with discovering the values at the core of each issue. Teams that are led by empathetic leaders are better able to see the opportunities in problems and are better able to come together to drive innovative solutions.