“We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.”
Carl Rogers
Research has shown significant differences in occupational stress, job satisfaction, work productivity and work engagement among employees before and during COVID-19. The pandemic has seen many of us shift our priorities, drastically changing what we want and need from our organisations and the people in them. As worker’s expectations change, leaders are increasingly having to re-evaluate and adapt how they connect with others.
A large and growing body of literature has investigated desirable leadership skills. Not surprisingly, the most recent research has shown that most workers now rate empathy as the single most important leadership skill needed for the foreseeable future.
Empathy is the willingness and ability to temporarily put ourselves into the shoes of another in order to understand their point of view. Different to sympathy, which involves understanding a situation from our own perspective, empathy is not diagnostic or evaluative in nature. It involves moving out of our own frame of reference and into another’s.
When employees perceive their leader as empathetic, there are a multitude of positive outcomes for both individuals and teams.
A recent survey by Catalyst found that leaders who demonstrate empathy will likely observe the following:
- Increased levels of innovative behaviours from their employees.
- Increased levels of engagement experienced by their workers.
- Increased levels of retention.
- Increased levels of perceived inclusivity felt by their employees.
- Increased levels of perceived work life balance felt by their employees.
- Increased levels of mental health amongst employees.
Conversely, an absence of empathy has several detrimental consequences on our interpersonal relationships. In several instances, those who are met with an unempathetic response are then reluctant to express their feelings to that person thereafter. A lack of empathy denies another their right of feeling the way they do and minimises the significance of their experiences. When we respond without empathy it can leave others feeling undervalued, unheard and disrespected.
A recent MIT Review revealed that a toxic work culture, one in which employees felt disrespected, was the leading cause of the Great Resignation in the United States. This kind of culture was 10x more influential than compensation when predicting turnover rates.
Although Australian labour market data suggests the Great Resignation has not yet occurred here, the ABS predicts over 600,000 Australians to be with a new employer in 2022. In a similar vein, a recent survey of 1800 workers by PwC Australia found that 38% want to find a new job within the next twelve months. There is no doubt that employee expectations of their leaders are changing, and as leaders we must adapt.
How to Lead with Empathy
When we lead with empathy, we create space for our employees to be healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled in their work.
Empathy is multifaceted, with three notable components presenting themselves throughout the literature.
- Cognitive empathy – the ability to perceive and understand the feelings of others.
- Affective empathy – the ability to feel or share another’s emotional state.
- Behavioural empathy – the ability to communicate and demonstrate empathy through our actions.
It is important to consider these three elements of empathy, as one alone may not be enough to portray empathy to another person. Nursing scholar Theresa Wiseman suggests that we can fully realise empathy by doing the following four things:
- Perspective taking.
- Staying out of judgement.
- Recognising emotion in other people.
- Communicating the emotion that you see.
To wrap up, I invite you to consider the following questions:
Where am I already incorporating empathetic listening and responding in my life?
How can I make sure people perceive me as an empathetic person?
What can I do to help my staff feel genuinely heard, understood and appreciated?
How can I incorporate empathetic practices into my every day?