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One of the keys to success in many organizations is empathetic leadership. It doesn’t matter if the company is a small startup, non-profit, or multi-national corporation. It has been established that empathy contributes to increased communication and trust among team members in an organization. Major companies now consider empathy a crucial leadership skill.
Therefore business leaders must show empathy in their leadership. Although showing empathy to friends and family is easy, expressing the same sentiments at work is difficult. Most people see the workplace as a place of competition, an environment where they struggle with their colleagues for promotion or recognition. This mindset doesn’t allow for empathy.
Being empathic means putting the needs of your colleague or team members over your own. Suppose everybody imbibes this skill in the workplace. In that case, the workplace could be a happy and collaborative environment rather than a competitive environment.
A great leader must lead with empathy. Leading with empathy has proven to be more beneficial than leading with an iron fist. Empathic leadership involves listening actively to your team members and making the workplace an environment where civil discourse can thrive.
When you truly listen to your team members as a leader, you’ll be able to solve their problems, and you will have happier colleagues. Additionally, encouraging an environment where civil discourse can thrive will help your coworkers state their views honestly without fear of being maltreated for their opinions. Showing empathy in communication is often seen as being soft. However, it is an effective leadership style that involves emotional intelligence and open communication.
Empathy is usually mistaken for sympathy, but they are not the same. A sympathetic person shows concern for the person’s situation. In contrast, an empathetic individual understands the situation from the person’s point of view without judging the person.
An empathetic leader inquires about the well-being of their team members because they genuinely care. Some may view it as a leadership skill that could make employees complacent, but that is not the case; empathic leadership brings a lot of value to the workplace.
Benefits of Empathic Leadership
Positive Work Environment
Having empathy as a leader contributes to more productivity and team member satisfaction. You cannot improve productivity and satisfy team members without a positive work environment. Employees are often scared to speak out because they fear repercussions or feel that the organization does not care about their well-being.
They usually limit their contribution to the cause and focus on themselves. However, suppose the leader is skilled in the art of empathic communication. In that case, they can make the employees feel valued at work, and happy employees result in higher rates of success and higher productivity. Such an environment would be conducive to innovation and creative ways of handling problems.
Increased Productivity
A team that an empathic leader leads is usually self-aware. Such teams communicate and support each other to reach organizational goals. When empathic leadership skill is applied effectively, it makes the company a trusting, supportive and safe atmosphere for employees to come up with creative and innovative ideas or solutions to problems.
In essence, empathic leadership increases productivity and promotes innovation and creative solutions. Because of this, the company will record higher retention rates as workers will be happy to work there and have no need to resign. Such a company will also witness good relationships among team members as they communicate and care for one another. Empathic leadership also fosters teamwork and encourages work-life balance.
With all these benefits, why would anyone not want to be an empathetic leader? Showing empathy as a leader is a sign of strength and creates an important emotional connection. When you demonstrate empathy, you create trust within your team. With trust, team members can communicate more openly within the workplace, increasing productivity and collaboration.
It is natural for people with power to try to show others that they are their superior, which is why many leaders settle for ruling with an iron hand. They believe that fear can help them to accomplish a task. But this is not always so.
A fear-based work environment is not conducive and innovative and will make the company suffer a loss of productivity. So acquiring empathic leadership skills is not just important because it creates trust in your team. It is also useful because it improves communication within the team. When people feel valued and know that their leader listens to them and that their opinions will not be discarded by their leaders, they will feel safer talking to you. It can also help you to have a better picture of how to manage your team adequately.
Final Thoughts
The importance of empathic leadership skills cannot be over-emphasized. Many companies’ success rests on their leaders’ empathic skills, from recognizing team members’ emotional needs to having a genuine interest in their feelings. Empathic leadership skills have improved the work environment for the better. What’s more, acquiring and demonstrating the skills can move your team members to improve their communication skills and make the workplace a happier environment for everyone.
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