5 Ways You Can Become a More Empathetic Leader

Companies need to hire and develop managers who are more capable of moving their organization forward during challenging times, and to do this they need help from leaders who can go beyond the scope of traditional management strategies and abilities. Surprisingly, one of those abilities is empathy.

Empathy is the 21st century skill. It is especially critical at this time, as many people are struggling to get through their daily life during a global pandemic. Empathy is also an important skill to learn for young managers who are now responsible for coaching, mentoring and developing younger workers. 

What Does Empathetic Leadership Look Like? 

Empathetic leadership is being able to understand and anticipate the needs of others, and be aware of their feelings and thoughts. Unfortunately, for decades empathy has been thought of as a soft skill, and one that is often overlooked. But today, being an empathetic leader is the difference between your company sinking or swimming. Successful leaders utilize empathy to be more “person-focused” and they rely on it to work well with people from other teams, departments, cultures and backgrounds. 

Every progressive leader understands that empathy is a key skill in learning what makes their team tick. According to the Center for Creative Leadership, “empathy in the workplace is positively related to job performance. Managers who practice empathetic leadership … are viewed as better performers in their job by their bosses.” 

Being able to be empathetic and compassionate towards others is critical in both our personal and professional lives. Demonstrating empathy can improve human interactions in general, and it can lead to better communication and more positive outcomes at work and at home. 

What Does Empathy Look Like in the Workplace?

Empathy is characterized by the ability to perceive and relate to the thoughts, emotions or experiences of other people. Those who are highly empathetic are skilled at seeing situations from another person’s perspective and reacting with compassion. At the workplace, this means that your team is able to create true, empathetic connections with each other which enhances their relationships and performance. 

Sympathy and empathy are often confused with each other, so it’s important to recognize their differences. Sympathy is characterized by feeling sorry for someone or their situation without understanding what it’s like to be in their shoes. On the other hand, empathy refers to having the capacity or ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s situation, and experience their emotions, ideas or opinions. 

Empathy Can Be Learned

Fortunately, empathy is not a fixed trait, and it can be learned with a bit of practice. It just takes patience and the willingness to learn and listen to your team to understand where they are coming from. With time and coaching, anyone can improve their empathy skills tenfold. 

As a leader, the best way to practice empathy is to get to know everyone, understand their roles and learn every part of the business inside and out. Then you can use that knowledge to recognize your team’s input and their frustrations. Not only will this benefit productivity, but this will also position you as an authentic and trustworthy leader, which will benefit the organization as a whole. 

Here are some strategies you can employ to help you demonstrate understanding, recognition and empathy at your workplace:

1. Build your listening skills.

Leadership is often correlated with presentation and public speaking, but rarely is it attributed to the value of being a great listener. Listening is an untapped skill that many leaders lack. In fact, many leaders hold a reputation for being horrible listeners. The key is to think bigger than your own story. Listening with empathy means listening with the purpose of understanding another person’s situation or perspective, through suspending your own thinking, opinions and judgments so you can really get into another person’s head. Through empathy, leaders recognize that they don’t always have to jump at solutions to their team’s problems. But rather, if they just lended a listening ear, their team is able to work out and come up with solutions to their problems on their own. 

2. Be authentic. 

You can’t force empathy. If you are truly disinterested in your team and how they feel, it will be incredibly apparent. The only way to show true empathy is through authenticity. You need to be able to show sincere interest in the needs, hopes and dreams of others. This is a crucial part of leading with empathy. By trying to understand the unique needs and goals of each of your team members you can then understand how to best match work assignments which contribute to both high level performance and employee work satisfaction. When your team members see that their manager can recognize them this way then they will become more engaged and more willing to give 110%. 

3. Anticipate others’ needs.

Work burnout is a real issue in today’s business world, and it becomes more of a risk factor during difficult periods of time (like a global pandemic). It’s important to recognize when your team members are stressed, and finding it difficult to find a work life balance. These are signs of overwork, which good leaders watch out for in others. 

Managers skilled in empathetic leadership can recognize these signs and pull on the breaks before it can snowball into an even bigger issue, such as disengagement or turnover. This might look like setting aside a few moments each week to check in on team members to ask how they are handling their current workload, and helping them to recover from the stresses of overwork. 

4. Extend a helping hand. 

Be willing to help out an employee with their personal problems. Empathetic leaders know that their team members are multifaceted individuals who are dealing with their own personal problems at home while having to maintain their professional obligations. They recognize that, as an effective leader, it is part of their role to support their team members when they really need it. Being open to communication and fostering transparency are great ways to create a safe space at work where team members can feel comfortable sharing when they need to.

5. Be compassionate. 

If your team members disclose a personal loss to you, then always show them compassion. Empathetic leadership helps forge real connections and bonds between those who lead and their teams. We have all experienced hardship and loss in our lives, so even if we can’t relate to the specific type of loss, we can still act through empathy and let others know they are supported. 

Ready to Make Your Next Move?

At 1Huddle, we believe in an empathetic workplace. Our employee training and development software allows you to model empathetic leadership through a customized learning journey designed to create a safe space for learning and fostering healthy relationships. 

1Huddle offers cloud-based employee training software where you can easily upload and customize your training content for a seamless training experience. All of your employees will have the ability to access their training anywhere, anytime and at the push of a button. This helps make training engaging and kept up-to-date. You can use our game platform to measure their performance and make key decisions on where you should take your training next. 

Do you want to learn more about how 1Huddle can help you level up your own workforce? Request a demo today.