The Magic of Leading with Empathy

The E-word has been a buzzword in recent times, a weathered-down jargon that is often misused and not put into practice enough. In this 7th edition of 'Let's Talk!', we will look at the magic that unfolds when you practice this much needed skill at the workplace. And if you are a leader, there is an even bigger onus to be a part of the world that makes your team want to wake up in the morning and not be disgruntled to come to work ;)

Empathy vs Sympathy

Let us take a step back to understand and differentiate between empathy & sympathy - because there always seems to be confusion surrounding the two as they seemed to be used interchangeably.

Sympathy is expressing pity or sorrow for someone without actually connecting or relating to them. It often comes from a feeling of superiority and in a workplace setting, it is not very helpful to those involved.

Whereas Empathy is all about receiving someone without judgment and being able to look at a situation from the teller's perspective without your own biases & experiences colouring it.

Why practice Empathy?

In the simplest terms:

Empathetic Leadership = Safe Environment = Happy Employees!        

When working with empathetic leaders, I felt safe and brought my best self to work daily. Even if I had to work longer hours than usual occasionally, I was happy to do it because I felt comfortable taking breaks when it mattered. It helped me stay at the top of my game and only channel my efforts into challenges of the business or project I was a part of rather than have to deal with challenges that rose from unhappy or unsatisfied co-workers.

Preaching "being there for your team" often feels idealistic, but the alternative is what we have seen at a global level: quiet quitting, burnout, and a literal mental health crisis! And shockingly enough, It is not entirely because people had to work longer hours or that they had too much work, it is because they didn't feel safe enough to ask for breaks or comfortable enough to speak up when they really needed it despite all of their hard work.

And this is why I believe we need to vehemently practice this "ideal" at every opportunity we get!

How can we be more empathetic?

Whether you are a leader or not, today's workplaces could do with a lot more positivity and if you think your outlook or actions don't matter, think again! If you can make even one person feel comfortable in their time of need, you've won big!

I want to leave you with some solid actionables so that you can make your little corner of the world, a better place than it was yesterday :)

• Listen More - this is the very basis of it all and maybe the hardest to crack. When was the last time you paid your fullest attention when someone spoke to you? We are tuned out and only pick up keywords and sense the tone of the person and say something that would seem relevant in that context.

Start small by catching up or checking in with your colleagues / team members outside of the meeting realm, and you'll learn a whole lot more about them and their perspectives! And if you don't agree with it, well at least you learnt something about yourself too then ;)

• Respond > React - Reining in your emotions in a healthy way can really take you places: it can make you a better parent or a partner and not just help you climb the famed ladder!

Practice getting all of the information from all perspectives before you say or do something - this is especially needed at the workplace, it saves us all a lot of bitterness and also builds your reputation as someone who's reliable.

• Inspire others - Well, when others get good experiences from you, you might even end up inspiring them to spread the good stuff around!

This is some of the ways which will help your team have magical experiences at work! So think about it and share any other ways you can make it more magical!