More Leaders Need To Read Fiction Novels In Order To Improve Their Empathy Levels

Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill, and that`s great news if you know where to get more Empathy from, and the science behind it for Leadership Development.

The ability to engage in Empathy in Action, the moment someone’s chooses to feel the pain of another human (affective empathy) is profound, but new research demonstrates that Leaders and professionals alike can increase their Empathy levels by reading fiction novels. Moreover, we all have greater opportunities to fill up on this number one leadership skill whilst sitting in the comfort of our own homes.

The Effects of Reading Fiction Novels

Science explains that reading fiction novels positively increases our empathy level by taking the mind to other people's psychological places of comfort and offering the brain a form of escapism from stress.

Mindless Reading

Evidence first of the conclusion reading fiction novels can increase Empathy levels comes from a concept called mindless reading; a term psychologists refer to when the mind wonders whilst reading deep into a novel. In actual some research by Neuroscientists suggest the brain is busy finding meaning in the stories and making sense of the past, our thoughts about the future and our relationships with others. ( Claudia Hammond , 2019)?

Reading is a great way to relax, switch off from the world, and calm the mind. It is no wonder that engrossed in a novel, new behaviors can enter the brain.

The simplicity of reading other people`s stories in the fiction world - or making reality allows the conscious brain to enter worlds of Empathy as we take our thoughts to different contextual stories - we simply dream into the deeper realities of what it means to be a more Empathetic Leader through reading a fake story.

How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy?

Another study investigated whether fiction experiences change empathy of the reader. Based on transportation theory, it was predicted that when people read fiction, and they are emotionally transported into the story, they become more empathic. Two experiments showed that empathy was influenced over a period of one week for people who read a fictional story, but only when they were emotionally transported into the story. No transportation led to lower empathy in both studies, while study 1 showed that high transportation led to higher empathy among fiction readers. These effects were not found for people in the control condition where people read non-fiction. The study showed that fiction influences empathy of the reader, but only under the condition of low or high emotional transportation into the story. (Bal & Veltkamp, 2013)

In Sum

Reading fiction Novels does indicate through research studies increases a person`s long term ability to be more Empathetic in the real world. Moreover, leaders in Business and other professionals may have golden opportunity to ignite increases in the number one Leadership skill for advanced skills development.

However, there could be several short comings to the conclusion that reading fiction novels alone increase the performance of Leader to be more Empathetic in the workplace. For instance, what level is the relationship between reading different fiction books, and can it more casual related depending on the depth of story – like someone ending their life.

In addition, is there simply more clearer results in the fact that highly empathic people tend to read more fiction. Thus, although the neuroscience is fairly evident on learning to be more Empathetic by reading fiction stories, we may not always be in the mood to read them based on our own subjective feelings, moods and general emotional intelligence.?

About Anthrotech Ai

The Anthrotech Ai is a daily LinkedIn newsletter designed to create science around empathy for you to read at home. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share with others you feel would gain value from it.

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Through self-innovation, a term Stephen coined in 2019 whilst almost dying, Stephen is trying to improve the way we look after our brains after trauma.