The Power of Empathy in Courageous Leadership
by MHI Partner, Leslie Bennett
We need to dispel the myth that empathy is walking in someone else's shoes: Rather than walking in your shoes, I need to learn how to listen to the story you tell about what it’s like in your shoes and believe you even when it doesn't match my experiences.
-Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart
Empathy, according to research, makes people better managers and workers, as well as better family members and friends. But it has a larger influence than just its personal impact.
We've worked with a lot of leaders over the years who understand the power of empathy and how it affects their own well-being, relationships with their peers, employees, and the overall performance of their organization.
Here’s what we know about the power of empathy in courageous leadership.
Courageous leaders who practice empathy can effectively straddle compliance and compassion when building a relationship with their employees.
Courageous leaders have learned how to be empathic – as it's a learned skill.
Courageous leaders understand that taking care of themselves supports their ability to be empathic with others.
Courageous leaders are not always empathic, and they catch themselves and take action to re-communicate their response in a more empathetic way.
Courageous leaders have high levels of self-compassion
Generous listening pays huge dividends by forging trust.
Being empathic is a skill that helps us listen to others. It entails being aware of our feelings about other people's points of view and determining our willingness to believe what is true for them. By doing both, we can build strong and trusting relationships.
As a leader, there is a danger of focusing solely on my own perspective, especially when another’s perspective contradicts my own experience. I'm more prone to this if I'm exhausted, haven't taken care of myself, have had a rough day, or generally have low resilience levels.
This type of situational feeding frenzy is my greatest pitfall as a leader. My assessment of your opinion (which cannot be accurate because I have not lived it) is motivated by a desire to be right and the knower and is a form of self-protection.
Taking a broader perspective, the research suggests that the ability to be empathetic is based on a number of individual characteristics and life circumstances.
Empathy is greatly affected when individuals have other stressors and are feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. In the workplace, this can cause people to feel distracted and disengaged, less tolerant of others and, in turn, less empathetic. In some cases of prolonged stress, individuals may not practice any empathy as a strategy of emotional avoidance of the perceived costs of time, mental effort, and emotional weight. Given the worldwide stressors of the last two years, this suggests that collectively, as a society, we may be more at risk than ever of diminishing levels of empathy.
(Source: https://psychcentral.com/lib/why-do-some-people-lack-empathy)
The risks of not being aware of this tendency are:
Pushing away people
Making decisions that are based on personal preference vs good sound business intelligence
An increased lack of engagement from team members
A resignation and cynicism from employees
Thinking I know better than my employees
In the long term, the benefits of empathy and believing a person's story outweigh the possible risks.
However, when I take a moment and listen to the person and really get into their world and intentionally make a point of believing them, something happens that is unexpected. Our connection is bigger, deeper and stronger.
Empathy contributes to positive outcomes.
According to a new study of 880 employees by Catalyst, (highlighted by Forbes), found empathy has some significant constructive effects:
Innovation. When people reported their leaders were empathetic, they were more likely to report they were able to be innovative—61% of employees compared to only 13% of employees with less empathetic leaders.
Engagement. 76% of people who experienced empathy from their leaders reported they were engaged compared with only 32% who experienced less empathy.
Retention. 57% of white women and 62% of women of colour said they were unlikely to think of leaving their companies when they felt their life circumstances were respected and valued by their companies. However, when they didn’t feel that level of value or respect for their life circumstances, only 14% and 30% of white women and women of colour respectively said they were unlikely to consider leaving.
Inclusivity. 50% of people with empathetic leaders reported their workplace was inclusive, compared with only 17% of those with less empathetic leadership.
Work-Life. When people felt their leaders were more empathetic, 86% reported they are able to navigate the demands of their work and life—successfully juggling their personal, family and work obligations. This is compared with 60% of those who perceived less empathy.”
We’re here to help.
We talk to scores of executive leaders, who are running successful companies and who truly care about their people. They are doing the things they know to provide access to support. They feel like they’ve got their people covered – until they don’t.
This inspired us to create The Caring Culture Playbook, a free resource that lays the groundwork for you to confidently take action to support your people and transform your organization. We outline the strategy for creating a caring culture in four clearly defined steps that will produce real, measurable, and tangible results in the guide.
When you sign up to receive a free copy of The Caring Culture Playbook, you'll also gain access to additional resources about the programs that support the Playbook's strategies and invitations to our exclusive virtual Caring Culture Playbook events!
Need more info now?
Book a discovery call with me here.