Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? A Better Way to Evaluate Leadership Potential

TEAM BUILDING AND CHEMISTRY

Empathy also enables leaders to build better teams. It acts as a kind of superantenna with which the leader can gather important information and bolster a group's chemistry. “By being attuned to how others feel in the moment,” write Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee, “a leader can say and do what's appropriate, whether that means calming fears, assuaging anger, or joining in good spirits.”¹⁶ With empathy, leaders are able to match appropriate personalities and talent to achieve optimal team composition. They can choose people who will complement each other. For example, a leader who recognizes that many of the group members are naturally reserved can deliberately add a member who is good at rallying collective energy.