Leadership Redefined - Empathy Quotient

"DOG" one of the finest creation by the creator, it is so special that the creator named it with his own name (reversing Dog makes to God). All the corporate jargons like EQ, Empathy, SQ, Connectedness, Employee Engagement, Leadership etc. can be learned in a short period of time by just spending time with a Dog. 

To improve people management skills many of the executives read books or watch movies to draw inspiration from famous people. There is a simple tool for it, that is your dog. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Dogs share many of the leadership traits that great leaders have, like devotion, honesty, perseverance, cleverness, bravery, teamwork and curiosity, to name a few. With all due respect to the leadership experts, if we can have the undue attention we can learn from dogs as well. 

Mindfulness

One famous quote states that “The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control and abandoning what lies in yours.”

Despite knowing the fact still how hard it is for us supercilious humans to live in the here and now. Either we live in the past or in future and we miss the present. It is always enlightening to hear the stories of people who have been through a near-death event. It blows them into experiencing the rest of their lives in the present tense, and they tell us how transformative this has been. If we observe dogs, they always live in the moment!

The power of reassurance, encouragement, and recognition 

When a skill is being imparted to a dog, the key areas to be focused on are rewards, repetition, discipline, and more importantly encouragement! We need to give a sense of achievement by setting manageable tasks; praising when they succeed; restore confidence when they fail and help them to try again; never let them lose their dignity.

The most important task of a leader is to help others overcome self-doubt and realize their best selves. The revelation was to see what a big difference encouraging the spirit makes, as much in the canine species as in the human one.

The importance of Energy

I don’t think there is a more significant attribute than enthusiasm and energy. It literally changes our chemistry, drives us forward, helps us overcome hurdles, and stimulates cooperation in others. Dogs are known for enthusiasm, even at the slightest act, they are full on energetic.

There is a message here for leaders everywhere: Pause to find joy in small things as well as large – the whole parade of life. No half measures. The magic of enthusiasm is that it’s infectious.

Active Listening 

Dogs communicate more effectively than humans despite being non-vocal, that’s why in the most difficult investigations dogs are used. 

The best leaders recognize the importance of effective communication, and that the key to this is the ability to listen well. But words are inefficient, and humans often use them to shield their real feelings. 

Trust 

The gurus tell us that effective leadership is based on trust. This is irrefutably true. But how do we measure trust? Is there any better example of trust more than a dog? And for any relationship to succeed Trust plays the vital part. 

Empathy 

The buzz word in today’s business world is empathy. To me empathy is not something to be exhibited or used, it is a state of being like breathing being part of life so is empathy.

Dogs are the perfect example of understanding empathy, they sense the mood of their owner and react accordingly which humans fail more often. In the corporate world, if a leader lacks empathy, he is going to fail irrespective of the competence he/she possess.  

The organization is built by people, and if people are not happy the organization won’t succeed, to make sure people are happy empathy is the only way, unless we understand our people we cannot lead them. 

Vishnu Vardhan, is a Gallup accredited strengths coach certified in Hogan Assessments, Belbin Team Roles, Situational Leadership II, Design Thinking, Franklin Covey's 7 Habits, CPTP, CLDM, CODIP, CPLP, and Instructional Designing. Addition to being an L&OD specialist he speaks and facilitates interventions on leadership, organizational culture and people development. He does theatrics based interventions as well.