Leadership, Empathy and Consciousness

A quick search on Google for ‘empathy in leadership’ leads to many current articles on the topic. The summary: empathy is more important than ever as a skill a leader has mastered. Research (Brower, 2021) has shown that empathetic leaders positively impact:

• innovation,
• engagement,
• retention of talent,
• feeling included and
• better work-life balance.

The reality however, is that leadership development is deficient in developing empathy. Even those who do embark on it, over 50% of employees will find that the efforts are ‘dishonest’ according a study by Ernst and Young (Hemmerdinger, 2023).? Companies are failing to follow through on their promises of being increasingly empathetic. These are turbulent times and a new approach to developing empathy in leadership is needed. Fundamentally we need to develop the mind/brain, the consciousness of the leader, to fully unfold their cognitive, emotional, social and cultural intelligence. Research on consciousness-based approaches, especially the Transcendental Meditation? program, has shown its ability to develop the full range of the leader’s intelligence. The results are quantified by more successful organizational performance.

The HR industry knows that empathy is a key skill for leadership and that it is needed more than ever (Wilson, 2023).? Unfortunately, the trends are heading downwards, not upwards. The HR Reporter found that only 68% of HR professionals view their leaders as empathetic, which is a 16% decline from 2022. And the impact on a non-empathetic leader is disastrous for mental health. 87% of employees believe that empathy at the top makes for a better work environment and influences their mental health. It’s not much better for employee retention. According to Uvaro (2022), 82% of employees would leave their job if they found a more empathetic place to work.

“Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research” -Brower, 2021

The problem originates in how leaders are rewarded. Leaders are expected to have great cognitive skills (IQ) and experience. They may even have great education and come up through the organization or the industry with hard-won lessons and insight. An organization’s performance is largely metrics driven. That is, the numbers need to work. Profits, cash flow, return to the shareholders or stakeholders are measured on a near daily basis. Leadership is rewarded, sometimes disproportionately, to improve those numbers. As a result, leadership at this level is task-driven: increase sales, decrease expenses. And this while managing relationships with clients, suppliers, their boards, their management, the industry and its regulators and the communities where they operate. This creates neural pathways in the brain that focus almost exclusively on the task-positive network (TPN). That means that leaders are focused on accomplishing goals by completing tasks. A task-oriented perspective, results in the leader objectifying the world around them. They also objectify those they work with, those they are competing against, those who are managing them and those who are setting the regulatory constraints. An entire culture of focusing on metrics has led to brain behaviour that objectifies and dehumanizes others. When the leader objectifies, they lose the ability to be empathetic. They fail to see other perspectives or be open to others. The problem cannot be solved solely on the level of changing behaviour. They need to change perspectives. They need a change in consciousness.

Being open is a completely different neural network in the brain. Empathy, together with Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Social Intelligence (SQ) and Cultural Intelligence (CQ) unfold from the default mode network (DMN) in the brain. The DMN operates from the pre-frontal cortex, the higher centre of human functions when compared to the TPN which operates more from the back of the brain. From the DMN, we are open to others and other experiences. This is where we envision new possibilities. We are calmer and more open and sensitive to input from others. Simultaneously, the emotional centre, our limbic system, is calmer. We are less dominated by threats and more open to connecting. In other words, empathy is born and cultured from a state of openness when we bring the default mode network online. Being open to others does not mean losing our ability to focus on tasks. Research on brain integration shows that both networks can operate along side each other to achieve higher and higher levels of success. We operate from a higher state of consciousness.

Here’s the thing. It only requires 15-20 minutes twice a day. The Transcendental Meditation? program, aside from being a technique that directly addresses burnout, stress and fatigue, dramatically changes brain behaviour. This change in brain behaviour awakens those aspects of the brain that are responsible for empathy, social awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences. The leader evolves. Research by Drs. Travis and Harung (2012) shows how high performance individuals can be cultivated through the simple addition of the TM program to their daily routine. Not only is it easy to learn, it’s easy to do. And its benefits start immediately. Furthermore, the ripple effect produced by this new brain behaviour cannot be solely attributed to its calming effect on the amygdala. TM is different. It actually increases the ‘depth’ of the conscious mind. As a result, leaders are functioning from a more powerful, more effective basis for their thinking, speech and action. Over 50 studies of this pervasive effect substantiates that by allowing the conscious mind to expand, it also influences everyone in the environment (Orme-Johnson, Cavanaugh, Dillbeck and Goodman, 2022). It is known as the field effect of consciousness. It turns out, that we live in a universe of field effects. That includes our organizations. When we modify even a single element in the field (the leader) we influence the organization’s field.

A field effect, as it relates to leadership, means an instantaneous transformation of behaviour and a positive influence in the environment. For those that I have taught TM, they notice right within the first few days that others respond to them more positively. They are more easy going, laugh more easily and find that they are more effective at their work. One doctor I taught recently said he ‘found’ two hours in his day - meaning he was that much more efficient. He also said, he started telling jokes at work. Before coming to learn, he had been diagnosed for depression. In another case, just after I had taught a professional in the mental health care field, her husband, who had come to pick her up, noted: “Based on how she looks…I’ll need to start this right away!” That transformation was from the very first day of meditation. From the deeper levels of the mind, the leader can create a positive influence for their direct reports and their entire organization. Leadership development without this field effect will fail over time because it is not positively influencing the environment. Without the positive influence on the environment, the success of any program will wane. Because TM produces a social effect as well as a personal effect on one’s emotional intelligence; the results are genuine and palpable.

Leadership is a social dynamic. Without the development of the conscious mind and its attendant effects on brain behaviour, leaders are out of their depth. They lack the skills and competencies to guide their organizations in these turbulent times. By adopting the easy to learn and easy to do practice of Transcendental Meditation?, they can gain greater cognitive, emotional, social and cultural intelligence. This is how development of consciousness can develop empathy in the leadership, management and entire organization.

James Hea has over 40 years of experience working with all types of organizations including large corporations, small and medium businesses, non-profits, education institutions and federal, provincial and municipal government departments. He is a certified Teacher of the Transcendental Meditation? program and a certified Consciousness Advisor. He can be contacted at 416-894-1895 or emailed at [email protected] to introduce the TM program and consciousness-based approaches to your organization.

References:

Brower, T. (2021) “Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According to Research”, Forbes, [Online] Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/09/19/empathy-is-the-most-important-leadership-skill-according-to-research/?sh=26fd86273dc5

Hemmerdinger, J. (2023) “New EY US Consulting study: employees overwhelmingly expect empathy in the workplace but many say it is disingenuous”, Ernst and Young, [Online] Available from:? https://www.ey.com/en_us/news/2023/03/new-ey-us-consulting-study

MIU (2012), “Research breakthrough: HIgh brain integration underlies winning performance” [Online] Available from: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/898997

Orme-Johnson, D, Cavanaugh, K, Dillbeck, M.C., Goodman, R. (2022) “Field-Effects of Consciousness: A Seventeen-Year Study of the Group Practice of Transcendental Meditation and the TM-Sidhi Programs on Reducing National Stress in the United States”, World Journal of Social Science, [Online] Available from: https://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/wjss/article/view/22214

Uvaro, (2022), “The Benefits of Empathy In the Workplace”, [Online] Available from: https://uvaro.com/blog/empathy-in-the-workplace

Wilson, J. (2023) “Survey shows dramatic drops in empathy among executives”, HRReporter, [Online] Available from: https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/culture-and-engagement/survey-shows-dramatic-drops-in-empathy-among-executives/376074