There’s nothing soft about empathy in leadership despite it being a soft skill. Even the Army Field Manual on Leader Development persistently insists that empathy is one of the secret keys to competent leadership.
Why? Because empathy makes you the type of leader who makes sure that the people he’s trying to reach are actually reached. Empathy makes you think of the consequences that every decision will bring once you put it into action. Without it, it’s impossible to build a team or even mother a new generation of leaders.
Those are just a few reasons why I believe that empathetic leaders are the best leaders.
Meanwhile, I know that some of you think that empathy for leaders is nothing but a touchy-feely skill. But the truth is, it has a major impact on leadership, which can be difficult to master and demanding to maintain.
Empathy in leadership is such an indispensable characteristic that I can even write a 20000-word article about it. But for the sake of our sanity, I’m going to narrow it down to a shorter article.
So why does leadership empathy matter? Here are a few reasons why.
1. Leadership empathy creates bonds.
Showing care for your subordinates helps you better connect to their interests and perspective. It’s easy to create a strong bond when you care about one another, which can result in a bigger prize down the road. Imagine how much power a strong bond can give to your teams, business, and leadership.
2. Empathy guides better understanding
We are not superheroes who can easily feel what others feel and think what others think. Some people can be compulsive with their reactions in ways that may leave you clueless and surprised. But if you are an empathetic leader, you don’t have to worry about how to respond to their reactions. At the end of the day, your goal is not to reply but to understand — not to respond but to listen. When you have empathy in your pocket, you can easily understand others without passing judgment or making assumptions.
3. Empathy in leadership helps you sharpen other’s skills.
Being empathetic can sometimes be hard, especially when your effort doesn’t come from the heart. But with the right amount of effort to show awareness and understanding, it can help you succeed in your biggest goal as a leader: employee development.
As an empathetic leader, you take interest in people to show you care. You also express your curiosity by asking questions and challenging them to become better than their current state. Doing this can result in successful employee development.
4. It cultivates better communication.
Empathy makes you the type of person whom other people want to speak to because it makes you feel safe to talk to. To effectively communicate means understanding how our choices can make a difference in the way we perceive the world which we can use to guide others.
5. Empathy in leadership helps you become an emotion-seeking detective.
Asking your team questions like, “what’s bothering you?” may sound so touchy-feely. But for your employees, your words will seem like an indicator of your interest. According to a Salesforce’s Report, employees can produce up to 4.6 times stellar work when leaders pay attention to their employees’ needs.
What makes an empathetic leader?
One of the most critical traits among empathetic individuals is their desire to listen to what others are saying. Truly, empathetic people know how to listen attentively to what you are telling them. They put their complete focus on the person talking, and they do not let themselves get distracted. They also spend time listening rather than talking because they want to let others feel that they are heard and recognized.
What can you do to be more empathetic?
Empathy is a natural part of the human condition. The only thing that’s preventing you to show empathy in leadership is how you demonstrate it to those around you. As mentioned earlier, one critical trait of leadership empathy is the ability to listen to those around you. Additionally, you must pay attention to all verbal and non-verbal cues that are a part of daily communication.
Doing these small efforts can help you switch your focus to the people around you.
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