Empathy in leadership : how will it serve the leaders and the team? Much has been talked about the need for leaders to have empathy. At the same time, the conversation of how to develop empathy and on whether empathy can be learned or not has surfaced too. Before we go into how empathy can be developed, let's take a look at how empathy helps leaders to be more effective with their team and what to be cautious on ie on how empathy can go wrong. Yes, you read that right. It CAN go wrong, if it's not exercised with other EQ competencies and it can lead to burnout. I believe this has been one of the major reasons why some leaders are very cautious or even reluctant about exercising empathy with their team. Let me know what do you think.

1. EMPATHY in
LEADERSHIP

2. What role does empathy
play in leadership?
understand their team members better and
know how to coach, motivate, inspire and lead
them for better performance.
address poor performance and lead their team
to bounce back with greater productivity.
anticipate how the team members will behave,
respond and perform based on changes in the
business and environment as a whole.
build trust and better working relationship with
team members and inspire commitment to
team's goal from the team members.
express their ideas better in the way that others
understand.
Leaders with empathy are able to

3. Cognitive
Empathy
Emotional
Empathy
t
"Simply knowing how the other person feels
and what they might be thinking. Sometimes
called perspective-taking” - Dr Daniel
Goleman
What it’s concerned with:
Thought, understanding, intellect.
Benefits:
Helps in negotiations, motivating other
people, understanding diverse viewpoints,
and ideal for virtual meetings.
“when you feel physically along with the other
person, as though their emotions were
contagious.” - Dr Daniel Goleman
What it’s concerned with:
feelings, physical sensation, mirror neurons
in the brain.
Benefits:
Helps in close interpersonal relationships and
careers like coaching, marketing,
management and HR.

4. Your team is
afraid to speak
up in meetings.
People avoid
doing projects
with you.
Signs that
leaders
need
empathy :

5. You defend,
blame, stonewall
or use your
position to
defend.
Your mantra is
my way or the
highway.
You minimise someone
else's comments by
saying why do you even
say that? or you
shouldn't think that
way?
You are more
comfortable in
making blanket
statement "good job
everyone" rather than
specific
acknowledgement.

6. When leaders are trying to guess
what others are feeling based on his
own reaction to events.
When leaders feel too much for
his/her team that he/she feels that
he/she has no control over it.
When leaders starts to blame
themselves and has no boundaries
over what they feel for others. This
may lead to burnout.
Where empathy can
go wrong :
Trust and openness in communication
is key so that any assumptions can be
avoided.
Be solution-focused on every scenarios
and avoid dwelling too long on
emotions. This requires a mastering the
full set of EQ competencies ie that
includes consequential thinking where
it allows both leaders and team
navigate emotions and make rational
decisions.
How to apply empathy
at workplace :

7. “Leaders with empathy do more than sympathize
with people around them: they use their
knowledge to improve their companies in subtle,
but important ways.”
Dr Daniel Goleman, author of "Emotional Intelligence" (named as one of the 25 Most
Influential Business Management Books by TIME magazine, The Financial Time and Wall Street
Journal.

8. For more posts on
Mindfulness, Emotional
Intelligence and
Communication, follow
me on Linkedin
Shadaitul Intan M Zin

9. Shadaitul Intan M Zin
To learn more
about Emotional
Intelligence for leaders,
ask me about our
upcoming class this
coming
January 2021.
Details are on my Linkedin's
profile's featured post section.