Why Empathy As A Leadership Skill Should Be Nurtured and Celebrated

What makes a good leader?

Well, the answer to this question is widely subjective. Different people have different skills and capabilities to handle situations. There is no one particular way to lead circumstances. But one skill that all employers expect their bosses to have is to be emotionally present.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO in his 2017 MIT Commencement speech, warned graduates on believing people who ask you to not share your emotions at work. “Don’t accept this false narrative”. His exact words.

TeamLease EdTech conducted a poll on the most crucial aspect of a leadership role. While 38% of the votes were for empowerment, around 30% of them believed empathy to be the most desirable aspect of leadership. The ability to delegate and integrity were other options. So we can suggest that a lot of other professionals also agree with Mr. Cook on the importance of showing an emotional side to the employees. See results here.

According to a study from Forbes, businesses will increasingly come to realize in the coming future that greater leader empathy is not just some feel-good concept skill, but rather a mandatory tool that all leaders will be expected to possess to have a balanced work environment at offices.

As Oprah Winfrey says; “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering people”. Empathy is putting yourself in others’ shoes. One has to have a bit of understanding of another person’s thoughts, feelings, and condition from his or her point of view, rather than forming their own opinion. Empathy facilitates helping behaviors that come from inside, to show support and comfort to give the other person a feeling of being seen and heard.

Also read: 6 Tips On How To Create A Great Learning Work Environment

Leading with Empathy

There are two ways to show empathy. First, they can consider someone else’s thoughts by putting themselves in their position ("If I were in his/her position, what would I be going through right now?") or the other way like ("Being in his/her position would make me feel happy, sad, irritated, confused, etc"). But leaders will be most successful if they personally speak to others, and when they express their concerns, a leader should inquire about challenges directly, and then listen to employees’ responses.

No one needs to be a mental health expert to help in times of need. A leader can help a lot by just lending an ear. It’s a small gesture to check-in, ask some questions and take cues from the employee about what and how much they want to share. Companies should make Leaders aware of the company’s support for mental health so they can provide information about resources if any additional help is required.

Action speaks louder than words. People will trust leaders and feel a greater sense of engagement and commitment when there is solid engagement between what the leader says and does. All that understanding of someone else’s feelings should turn into compassion and action. Taking an action means understanding an employee’s struggles and offering them help. That’s it. Just like we do in our personal lives to our friends and family. There is one popular saying, people may not remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Here are three reasons why empathy is going to be the number one leadership skill:

1. Employee Retention
   Talent retention is something every organization struggles with at one point. One of the most commonly cited reasons for people leaving an organization is not being heard or valued as an individual. Empathy helps in increasing trust, a sense that employees are listened to and cared about. Be it personal life or being a part of an organization, a person is more likely to stay for longer if they feel appreciated and cared about. Developing an empathetic nature in leaders goes a long way towards affecting people to stay at the workplace.


2. Engagement and Collaboration
   Employees don’t involve themselves in internal matters if they feel like an outsider or just money-making machine. When empathy is demonstrated from the top management, it drills down throughout the organization resulting in an increased interest in work and fewer conflicts of opinion with the teammates. Even if they have contradictory views, they know that they are heard and their opinions matter. This collaboration results in better-coordinated work effort and increased productivity.


3. Increases happiness
   A happy person can touch the sky. Imagine the result an organization would reap if an employee happily and willingly works hard for them. They are going to be more productive and that positive energy can also be spread to others like your other employees and customers. Avoiding a toxic work environment will impress your customers too and flourish the business. Henceforth, it’s another way to keep your top employees for long. One popular study found that 66% of employees would quit if they felt underappreciated. And no organization wants that, right?


4. Final words
   Increased empathy of management in any organization results in mental health benefits to the involvement, commitment, and encouragement to employees to give nothing less than 100%. And that’s why it is considered the most important aspect in the leadership role. This is actually a win-win situation for both sides of the table as it will show an increase in efficiency, productivity, and success of an organization.