1. Empathy In The Workplace:I have beenwriting about empathy for nearly 20 years. Empathy is the
drivingforce behindeverythingI have ever done, and will ever do. I am soon to embark on writing
and publishing my first book, a guide to empathy which provides an overview of just how much
empathy plays an integral role in our lives, and my next book will quickly follow suit and will be
primarily focused on empathy in the workplace.
Every day we are either under the influence of leadership through our work, community, political
leaders, education, sports, religion, laws and regulations and so forth or directly in the role of
leadership such as a CEO, company director and all team leader positions; leading hand, foreman,
supervisor,coach,principal,councilmember etc.Lestwe forgetone crucial leadership position that
we all have experience with - parenting (as a child or the parent). We are always being guided,
ushered along or directed by others whether we are aware of this or not.
Empathy In The Workplace is a topic close to my heart that has left an impressionable mark on me
fromthe veryfirstdayI startedworkingpart time asa student/teenagerandgatheredbetweenNew
Zealand and Australia over the past 35 years, I am certain we could all tell some captivating to
eyebrow-raising stories of our experiences that many of us could relate too.
It would inevitably entail having to experience both (directly and indirectly) the full spectrum of
leadership in order to understand and identify strengths and weaknesses including being led by
others and in positions of leading regardless if the title denotes such or not and of what has
continuously stood out at an ever increasingly alarming rate is being confronted with the lack of
empathyacross all industries and life on the whole, we need only look around us to see the direct
impact.
Leadershipisnota given,nora rightbestoweduponanotherasthe be-all end-all,nor is it a position
of powertotake advantage of (others) - yetitrepeatedly is. Nor does leadership come naturally to
some,we have all metpeople inasaidpositionwhoquite franklyaren't suited to the role, we need
only conjure up in our minds political leaders governing our countries to identify some stand out
candidateswholackcredibilityonthe leadershipstakes. Regardlessleadership with Empathy at the
helm can be learned and applied with incredible outcomes for all.
Staff retention is one of the most expensive outlays to businesses which costs billions of dollars
annually in Australia and New Zealand, let alone on a global scale and more often than not it is
linkedtopoorleadershipthatstartsfromthe top andfilters all the way down. People leave or feel
disgruntledbecausetheyare unhappywithmanagement|governance|leadership and the effects of
thisare far broaderthanwe mayinitially anticipate. Productivity,performance and profitability are
the most obvious;howeverthe harmony, healthandwell-being of the individual and the collective
(all involved) are giventhe leastattention andnevertheless the flowoneffectcanbe the most costly
when it extends beyond the workplace and into the home and family relationships – it is all
encompassing.
My goal isto bringawarenesstoeffectiveleadershipthatisgovernedby Empathy andnotjust in the
workplace butinall areas of our lives, including our relationships with family, friends, neighbours,
and people we come face toface witheveryday and of course our colleaguestoname but a handful
and to also enhance and strengthen your own leadership potential.
Thank you for joining me on a journey with Empathy leading the way – it is time for a natural shift.
With gratitude,
Christel Broederlow © 2016 Empathy In The Workplace