The Power of Leadership Empathy

Recently a colleague of mine was helping a group work through conflict when he heard a phrase I’d often heard before.  The phrase, “This is a business decision and you shouldn’t take it personally,” was stated to an executive who had just been directed to lay off 15% of his staff…one week before the Christmas holiday.  While the executive was passing through the expected stages of change after hearing such news, the only support she received from her employer was to “get over it.”  While organizational decisions such as these are difficult, this type of non-empathetic behavior generally increases the presence of unhealthy conflict, not lessens it.

Great leaders with exceptional business acumen lose their effectiveness when they struggle with the human aspects of leadership, such as empathy.  This is because, in my opinion, there is a significant correlation between non-empathetic leadership styles and subordinates who consistently lack innovation and creativity, struggle to take ownership of their assigned portfolios, and have difficulty working through conflict.  Certainly, there are other causes for these shortcomings but lacking empathy is one of the most common.     

The key to handling situations like this one is to increase one’s “empathetic response.”  Empathy, the ability to understand and reflect others feelings, allows others to feel understood and supported.  When we authentically allow ourselves to react to another’s feelings, we usually increase the quality of the relationship, therefore increasing understanding and support.  When we feel understood and supported we become more likely to trust and therefore, show a greater commitment toward the source of empathy.  Greater commitment of this type often results in improved focus, self-awareness, and overall effectiveness.  We can see why empathy is quickly becoming one of the most important competencies in the executive job-description.

So, how do we increase our empathetic response?  Why does limiting empathy seem so unnatural?  The video below provides neuroscientific research into our “Mirror-Neurons,” or the brain’s capacity for empathy.  This research provides a rich insight into empathy and empathetic behavior.   

Watch the full episode. See more NOVA scienceNOW.

 Watch the full episode. See more NOVA scienceNOW.

Leading with empathy is critical for today’s workforce to achieve the necessary increases in innovation, intellection, and self-motivation that the competitive global environment requires.

Got something to share? Send me an e-mail, follow me on Twitter or join me onLinkedIn.   

 

Comments

[GarzaIRIS22]

This is well known that money can make people disembarrass. But how to act if somebody has no money? The only one way is to get the business loans and just small business loan.