Leaders Cannot Be Successful Without This Quality

I finished a coaching session with a leader this week and then reflected on what I heard. She essentially had a boss who did all the talking while she did all the listening. There was so much she wanted to share for him to understand her viewpoint and experience. But he never opened up the opportunity.

This is often too typical in the stories I hear. And the tragedy is that not only is it diminishing to workers but it's also counter-productive to every bottom line at work.

This quote is from an outstanding article about how managers can manifest empathy in the workplace. Here’s the link: “What Does It Mean to Be a Manager Today?” It will help you realize how important empathy is for a leader and some practical ways to live empathy.

The following are some qualities & behaviors I’ve seen that empathy intentionally engages in:

1. Empathy listens more than talks.
2. Empathy tries to understand the context and experience of the other person so as to feel what the other person is feeling.
3. Empathy strives to build trust by being trustworthy.
4. Empathy believes in the capacity of the other person in a way that elevates rather than diminishes.
5. Empathy comes along side of rather than standing aloof.
6. Empathy celebrates others' successes as well as feels disappointment from failures in a nonjudgmental way.

Imagine what the workplace could be like with leaders who had this kind of empathy.