The Empathy Gap

CHAPTER 5Leading with empathy

Decision making is hard, but as a leader it is not an option; it is an essential duty. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, ‘In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing’.

Leaders must navigate through the complex landscape of challenges, opportunities and responsibilities, making choices that often have far-reaching implications for many people. Avoiding decisions, or delaying them, can lead to stagnation, missed opportunities and even catastrophe. It is vital to understand that the role of a leader inherently involves making tough decisions, sometimes under pressure and with incomplete information. This is where empathy can help. By gathering more information, we can make better decisions.

There are countless examples of situations where indecisive leadership caused significant harm. In 2014, the Australian Department of Human Services had been exploring ways to better identify people who had underreported their incomes and claimed more welfare support than they should have. A concept was developed called the Online Compliance Intervention. The idea was to use annual data from the Australian Tax Office to automatically calculate potential overpayments and issue debt notices. This avoided the slow, staff intensive process previously in place.

In initial meetings, Department of Social Services personnel flagged that this system seemed flawed. ...