The Burnout Epidemic

6

Becoming an Empathetic Leader

When we talk about empathy in leadership, people can feel uncomfortable. Not because they don’t have any empathy; they’ve just been taught that leadership is displayed in behaviors that exhibit authority, emotional discipline, stoicism. And this doesn’t jibe with how an empathic leader might behave.

Some people are quick to say empathy is too sentimental, too emotional for the workplace. But in reality, it is challenging to develop, particularly if there isn’t a strong genetic predisposition. And empathy can be tough to sustain.

Here’s some straight talk. It’s annoying when people suggest that empathy is a soft skill. Despite the desire to change the way we think about the term soft, that word has almost as much ...