Advancing DE&I at Work Starts with Another “E”- Empathy

We all have defining moments in our lives that make us stop, pause and reflect on our situation. I had a moment like that in a packed church during my mother’s funeral service. As I looked around at all the people who came to pay their respects to this wonderful woman who had such a positive impact on their lives, I wondered who would show up for me. My friends? My colleagues? Do I have a positive impact on people I interact with? Do those who work with me feel that I create an environment where they can thrive?

?No one has this kind of moment without a reason, so let me share mine. At the time of her death, I was progressing quickly in my career. I was laser-focused on creating innovative ideas for my clients and delivering high-quality work. In fact, I was so focused on my work that I didn’t pay attention to the needs of my colleagues. What mattered to me, and what I was rewarded for, was meeting or exceeding the expectations of my clients. Despite being a caring and thoughtful person, that version of myself wasn’t showing up for my colleagues. I was all business and focused only on results. In that moment, I realized that I may have inadvertently been creating an environment where others didn’t feel comfortable and couldn’t be at their best because I wasn’t empathetic and inclusive in my management style.

Talk about a wake-up call! I knew right then that I had an opportunity to show up differently for the people I work with. To do that, I needed to start by shedding the misguided messages I had received early in my professional career that being caring or showing empathy was ‘soft’ or a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s one of the greatest strengths leaders can possess to create a more inclusive environment, one in which people can shed their armor and feel invested in their organization.

Since we all appreciate data that provides an additional level of validation, a recent study by Catalyst , a global non-profit focused on helping companies build workplaces that work for women found that:

• 61% of employees said they were able to be innovative when their leader was empathetic, vs. 13% who said they could be innovative with less empathetic leaders.
• 57% of white women and 62% of women of color said they were unlikely to think of leaving their companies when they felt their life circumstances were respected and valued by their companies.

Further, a London School of Economics study showed that empathy increases retention, drives innovation and supports employees’ wellbeing. Those with empathetic managers reported higher levels of creativity (61%) and engagement (76%) than those with less empathic senior leaders (13% and 32%, respectively).

Creating more empathy in the workplace for me meant approaching colleagues with more curiosity and listening more deeply so that I truly saw them, heard them and behaved in a manner that enabled them to shine. For example, when forming new teams, I used to focus solely on the goals, efficient distribution of the work and driving performance. Now, I make sure to also spend time building relationships, establishing trust and developing an understanding of both the personal and professional circumstances of each person. This gives me a sense of context and empathy for who each person is, where they’re coming from and what they may need to be at their best. I can be a better leader with this knowledge and unleash the potential of the individual, as well as the whole team.

Simply put, leading with empathy is about putting people over process and one of the things I value about being at Takeda is how we emphasize that exact concept in part of our management and development approach, which we call Quality Conversations. Essentially, these are conversations between managers and employees that happen regularly instead of once a year. They are feedback sessions built on trust, being candid and fostering mutual respect. For these conversations to be successful, both individuals must be able to go below the surface and invest the time to understand each other’s complexities. ?

As we continue to advance a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, it is up to us, as leaders, to set the standard for empathy and lead by example. Each interaction, big or small, gives us the opportunity to be intentional about how we show up, how our employees see us and how we see them – as whole people. And the good news is that this is fully compatible with, and arguably necessary, to achieving business objectives, goals and bottom lines.

?How are you advancing a culture of empathy in your company??