Why Empathy is the #1 Leadership Skill?

In Tim Cook’s 2017 MIT commencement address, he warned graduates, “People will try to convince you that you should keep empathy out of your career. Don’t accept this false premise.” The Apple CEO is not alone in recognizing and emphasizing the importance of empathy — the ability to share and understand others’ emotions — at work. At the time of his remarks, 20% of United States employers offered empathy training for managers. In a recent survey of 150 CEOs, over 80% recognized empathy as key to success.

According to recent studies carried out by the Development Dimensions International (DDI), empathy is the biggest single leadership skill needed today. In a global survey DDI discovered that the top ten performing businesses in the 160 studies the “Global Empathy Index” generated 50% more net income than the bottom ten performers. According to Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of DDI, “Being able to listen and respond with empathy is overwhelmingly the one interaction skill that outshines all other skills.” Other research has backed up DDI findings. Dianne Crampton at Gonzaga University found that “Empathy is a universal team value that promotes high commitment and cooperation in the workplace. “Becoming aware of the importance of their leaders developing empathy, companies are responding with sending their leaders to empathy training.” According to the Wall Street Journal, 20% of employers now offer empathy training which is up substantially from ten years prior.

Here are five Reasons that empathy is becoming the number one leadership skill:

1. Employee Retention

One of the struggles that every organization face is talent retention. One of the most common cited reasons for people leaving an organization is lack of trust in and recognition from those they report to. Empathy increases trust, a sense that employees are valued and cared about. Whether in our personal relationships or part of an organization, we will be more likely to stay when we feel like we are heard, appreciated and cared about. Developing and use of more empathy by leaders goes a long way towards effecting people to stay.

2. Employee Engagement

Have you ever noticed that when someone close to you notices tells you how much they appreciate something you have done for them? You automatically have the urge to do more for them. In terms of employee engagement, it is known that when leadership demonstrates to employees that they care, the reciprocity reaction kicks in and they want to put in more effort. Somehow many organizations miss out on the basics, especially when it comes to leadership behaviours. Successful organizations are aware of this and their leaders continuously notice, compliment and look for ways to show their appreciation to their employees. Related articles: Passion or Engagement? A Paradigm Shift and Employee Engagement - A Pressing Issue in the Challenging Times.

3. Internal Collaboration 

Not only do employees that feel valued and appreciated want to contribute more in terms of their deliverables, they want to do more for their colleagues at work. When empathy is demonstrated at the top, it drills down throughout the organization resulting in an increased teamwork and decreased internal conflicts and workplace disruption. This collaboration results in better coordinated work effort and increased productivity.

4. Job Satisfaction 

Employees that feel recognized, heard and appreciated feel more responsible and take full ownership of their work domain. As the level of job satisfaction decreases, so does the ownership. Employees who feel less committed feel less motivated to everything that is related to his/her work domain. Their rational is simple that since nobody cares, so why should they. Increased detachment, decreases morale as coworkers who have to pick up the slack become resentful. This can create a downward spiral in terms of employee morale and absenteeism rates.

5. Enhanced Innovation

People who perceive they are part of an organization and feel heard and appreciated, tend to risk more and look for ways to add increased value to the organization. They are more likely to put time and energies coming up with new ideas, processes and methods to improve their own work and move the organization forward. Their commitment to the organization makes them feel that their success and that of the organization are interrelated, boosting their desire to find new, better and more efficient ways of working.

Last Word 

“Real empathy is sometimes not insisting that it is okay but acknowledging that it is not.” - Sheryl Sandberg

Increased empathy of management in any organization results in many benefits to the well-being, commitment and desire for employees to give their best. This is a win-win situation for all concerned as the final outcome is an increase in efficiency, productivity and success of an organization. As rising numbers of studies come to this conclusion, businesses will increasingly come to realize that greater leader empathy is not some feel good, soft skill, but rather an essential tool that their leaders will need to keep their organization competitive and successful.

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Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.