Increased sales and a strong bottom line usually are precursors of boardroom discussions about accountability. That dialogue is broadening, however, as the complexities of today’s marketplace have led to a less black-and-white conversation — a more humanized version of accountability.
Your living, breathing, growing organization needs a heart. You need to “psychologically identify with, or vicariously experience the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.” That is the dictionary definition of empathy, and for businesses and brands it means having a heightened consideration for the wants, needs and passions of their consumers.
Empathy is a key competency in everything from business leadership to parenting.
It moves us from the simple identification and knowledge of needs to a depth of understanding, experience with, and belief in those needs, wants, and desires. Empathy can help businesses align authentically with what their consumers care about.
However, as we seek to develop successful solutions and innovations for brands to meet the needs of consumers and shoppers, empathy can be a big challenge
Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates and strong proponent of empathy in business, said a while back that “the problem with business today isn’t a lack of innovation; it’s a lack of empathy.”
While one might think that marketing — an industry based on open communication — would’ve figured it out by now, the truth is that many marketers today still undervalue, or at least misunderstand, empathy.
After 20 years in innovation and leadership consulting, Acho believes that the value of empathy and vulnerability is missing from organizations as a management tool.
Acho is president of the Acho Group, a former partner of McKinsey & Company and holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Your business is filled with people. If you want to connect with them on a meaningful level, empathy is the key.
Here we explore how empathy plays a vital role in shifting brands from a bland and vulnerable position, to one that is robust in meaning and purpose.
Empathy as a driver of brand strategy
...As such, empathy leads you to the deep-rooted connections that can be forged to create strong and enduring bonds...
Empathy as a cultural ethos
...empathy helps you better engage and motivate employees. This means they’ll be far more likely to listen to, appreciate, and follow your leadership...
Empathy as an engine of innovation
...An empathetic attitude sheds new light on what’s needed now and how to best address that need or opportunity...
Empathy as a leadership practice
We’re all born empathetic. As babies we all had the capacity to perceive how others were feeling and what they were experiencing...
Empathy is key to connecting with people People are a part of the success of any organization. Empathy, therefore, is key to the success of any organization.
Some interesting insights on why empathy is important.
One of the more surprising items on the British political agenda this year was empathy.
This is largely thanks to Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has cited empathy as one of his core political values and has even recruited the help of empathy expert Professor Simon Baron Cohen to develop his “politics of empathy”.
It is too early to know whether Mr. Miliband’s initiative will bear fruit in the political domain. But it isn’t too early for the HR community to take note and consider the case for pushing empathy up its own agenda.
the Army leader to build high-performing and cohesive organizations able to effectively project and support landpower. It also creates positive organizational climates, allowing for individual and team learning, and empathy for all team members, Soldiers, civilians, and their families.
2-15. Three major factors determine a leader’s character: values, empathy, and the Warrior Ethos. Some characteristics are present at the beginning of the leader’s career, while others develop over time through additional education, training, and experience.
4-4. Character is essential to successful leadership. It determines who people are and how they act. It helps determine right from wrong and choose what is right. The factors, internal and central to a leader, which make up the leader’s core are—
Army Values.
Empathy.
Warrior Ethos.
EMPATHY
4-42. Army leaders show a propensity to share experiences with the members of their organization. When planning and deciding, try to envision the impact on Soldiers and other subordinates. The ability to see something from another person’s point of view, to identify with and enter into another person’s feelings and emotions, enables the Army leader to better care for civilians, Soldiers, and their families.
4-43. Competent and empathetic leaders take care of Soldiers by giving them the training, equipment, and all the support they need to keep them alive in combat and accomplish the mission. During wartime and difficult operations, empathetic Army leaders share the hardships with their people to gauge if their plans and decisions are realistic. Competent and empathetic leaders also recognize the need to provide Soldiers and civilians with reasonable comforts and rest periods to maintain good morale and mission effectiveness. When a unit or organization suffers injuries or death, empathetic Army leaders can help ease the trauma and suffering in the organization to restore full readiness as quickly as possible.
4-44. Modern Army leaders recognize that empathy also includes nourishing a close relationship between the Army and Army families. To build a strong and ready force, Army leaders at all levels promote self sufficient and healthy families. Empathy for families includes allowing Soldiers recovery time from difficult missions, protecting leave periods, permitting critical appointments, as well as supporting events that allow information exchange and family teambuilding.
4-45. The requirement for leader empathy extends beyond civilians, Soldiers, and their families. Within the larger operational environment, leader empathy may be helpful when dealing with local populations and prisoners of war. Providing the local population within an area of operations with the necessities of life often turns an initially hostile disposition into one of cooperation.
B-35. To improve leader counseling skills, follow these general guidelines:
by Lieutenant Colonel Harry C. Garner, U.S. Army, Retired
ABSTRACT
The article discusses empathy and why it is an important leadership characteristic that builds relationships of trust between superiors and subordinates, in the military and elsewhere. Relevant concepts in personal and professional development from writers such as Robert Goffee and Gareth R. Mitchell, Matt Broaddus, and Steven Covey are discussed.
A True Leader Skill http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/repository/dcl_GarnerArticle.pdf To lead successfully, a person must demonstrate two active, essential, interrelated traits: expertise and empathy. In my experience, both of these traits can be deliberately and systematically cultivated; this personal development is the first important building block of leadership. —William G. Pagonis, Leadership in a Combat Zone
IN HIS CLASSIC 1991 Harvard Business Review article, “Leadership in a Combat Zone,” Lieutenant General Gus Pagonis outlines a path to effective leadership by focusing on the development of two fundamental leadership traits: expertise and empathy. There is little disagreement among military professionals that leaders must be proficient at systems management. But what about empathy? How did empathy, a word that conjures preconceptions of excessive sensitivity and interpersonal emotional connectivity, become a building block of leadership?
Related to Servant Leadership is the subject of Empathy - the capacity to recognise emotions that are being experienced by others. This month, I would like to share an article by LTC (Ret) Harry C. Garner titled, “Empathy – A True Leader Skill”. In the article, LTC (Ret) Garner shared that leaders who harness the power of real empathy will foster better communications, tighter cohesion, stronger discipline, and greater morale in their units.
Back in the 1950’s Carl Rogers identified three characteristics that psychotherapists should possess: warmth, genuineness, and empathy. Considerable research supported Rogers’ idea.
Regardless of the therapeutic orientation of the therapist, these three variables facilitated clients making positive changes. Building a positive relationship with the client has been viewed as an important part of effective psychotherapy. Over time, this concept has been included in, and adapted for, a variety of therapeutic approaches....
How can leaders be more effective?
By listening to staff. When a leader seeks input from various levels within an organization, this helps staff feel valued.
By reflecting back to staff what has been said.
By using positive communication whenever possible. By acknowledging individual and group accomplishments, a leader builds a “positive balance” in the “emotional bank account” of staff, thus helping everyone feel more invested in the organization.
However, two words that come up frequently when employee engagement is discussed are empathy and data. Some consider data to be the driving force on how to understand, build and maintain employee engagement.
Others feel emotional intelligence should be used to build and maintain engagement. Certain leaders consider them to be somewhat mutually exclusive while others feel that a combination of both is necessary.
Facebook’s recent ‘emotional awakening’ likely to fall flat, writes Lucy Kellaway
The only proper role for empathy in business is in the office, and even then it is needed only in exceptional circumstances. When we are struck by illness, bereavement, divorce or are in periods of miscellaneous emotional upheaval, we may need empathy from our colleagues.
When I have occasionally pitched up at work ravaged by life, a small injection of empathy from a workmate makes me feel not only vastly better, but fonder of my employer. The times when I have received nothing of the sort, I have been left feeling even more miserable.
Wow, Lucy Kellaway... I liked very much her witty, smart what you want articles in FT, her two (?) books, everything... ironic and wise...
It is not only about FB, check the two paragraphs about the CEOs and empathy... you find more in these than in 10 other management gurus' books...:-)))
What can empathy do to help our customers, readers and prospects? How can it be one of the most important tools for client retention? Take advantage of your natural abilities to make a profitable connection.
What Place Does Empathy Have in Marketing?
On Dictionary defines empathy as, “the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person’s feelings.”
Haven’t you ever said to someone, “I can only imagine what you are going through”? You were giving your friend the gift of empathy – and it is something our customers and readers appreciate and deserve as well.
We all long to be understood, which is why our oldest friendships and our family ties mean so much. Not having to explain why you think, feel, or act in a certain way because your companion has been around you long enough to understand without a word keeps bonds tight even when miles and years separate us (go call that person who always understands when you’re done reading!).
Empathy in business dealings, especially for the entrepreneur, are vital to maintaining sustainable success.
Entrepreneurs are surrounded by people who they need to understand, from shareholders or investors, to employees and customers. When an entrepreneur is in tune with the perspectives and needs of these parties, the business will be strengthened. The connection provides the entrepreneur with insights to run their business optimally.
Here are some of the benefits of a compassionate workplace:
1. POSITIVE EMOTIONS BOOST PRODUCTIVITY
2. POSITIVE WORKPLACE INTERACTIONS IMPROVE EMPLOYEE HEALTH
3. POSITIVE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AT WORK RESULT IN POSITIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE
4. A COMPASSIONATE WORK CULTURE FOSTERS GREATER LOYALTY
Seppala argues the creation of a compassionate work environment begins with leaders. When leaders act in a self-sacrificing, service-oriented way, she explains, employees are more likely to be helpful and friendly to each other; creating a chain reaction of kindness.
A new program tries to help business leaders to identify and alleviate suffering in the workplace.
Most would agree that we need more compassion to help reduce human suffering in the world. But few prioritize building compassion in the place where we spend most of our waking time—our jobs.
Research suggests that compassionate workplaces increase employee satisfaction and loyalty.
A worker who feels cared for at work is more likely to experience positive emotion, which in turn helps to foster positive work relationships, increased cooperation, and better customer relations.
Compassion training in individuals can reduce stress, and may even impact longevity. All of these point to a need for increasing compassion’s role in business and organizational life.
Make a list of empathy benefits with your agents and discuss You may already have something like this as a part of your training or you may need to create. Review these benefits during coaching with your experienced and new agents to make sure they are in agreement:
Prevents many escalations and complaints
Negative social media blasts avoided
Customer easier to communicate with
Positives back from customers
Retains customers which means continued revenue for the company, center and employee opportunities
Innovation requires change, which is hard for human beings even when it’s good. Change brings fear, loss, frustration, and even rewiring of our brains
Empathy helps us move through all of this, as well as fuels our willingness and desire to celebrate success together.
True inclusion requires being able to hear what others contribute, and that they feel safe and able to communicate disparate views. Inclusion starts with valuing rather than judging each human being. Think about the groups in which you feel safe to be yourself and say what comes to mind. The currency of empathy is flowing there.
Our findings suggest that decades’ of prior research failed to reveal how empathy can turn into a liability for an executive—particularly when it’s not accompanied by other components of EQ. Empathy must be accompanied with other social-behavioral skills in order to be an asset.
James Lewis,
Executive Insights The limits of empathy for executives
Too much empathy can be a liability for an executive— particularly if it’s not balanced out by other components of emotional intelligence. A Korn Ferry study of 2,000 C-level executives found that those who overemphasize empathy are among the least engaged leaders and at high risk of derailing.
Our findings suggest that decades’ of prior research failed to reveal how empathy can turn into a liability for an executive—particularly when it’s not accompanied by other components of EQ. Empathy must be accompanied with other social-behavioral skills in order to be an asset.
James Lewis,
Executive Insights The limits of empathy for executives
Too much empathy can be a liability for an executive— particularly if it’s not balanced out by other components of emotional intelligence. A Korn Ferry study of 2,000 C-level executives found that those who overemphasize empathy are among the least engaged leaders and at high risk of derailing.
Adding together this accumulation of evidence and insights from psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience, there is little doubt that we are social creatures defined by our capacity to empathize. Accompanying our self-seeking Hobbesian side is our Vulcan other half. We are both serpents and doves.
But there may be a niggling worry at the back of your mind, which is whether it really is possible to become more empathic and expand your ability to look through other people’s eyes. Might your empathic capabilities be fundamentally limited by the kind of brain you happened to be born with? Or what if you didn’t receive enough nurturing care as an infant to develop deep empathic sensitivity?
Whether you’re running a company or feeding, clothing, and equipping an army, the bedrock principles of leadership don’t change: Know your stuff and listen hard, and your troops will fight like lions for you.
Expertise and Empathy
...Owning the facts is a prerequisite to leadership. But there are millions of technocrats out there with lots of facts in their quivers and little leadership potential. In many cases, what they are missing is empathy. No one is a leader who can’t put himself or herself in the other person’s shoes. Empathy and expertise command respect.
...I could perpetuate the cycle or I could act in the spirit of empathy, based on my vivid recollection of what it felt like to get knocked around.
=================================
Empathy was an absolutely vital quality in the context of the Gulf War. We asked ourselves constantly: What do the other people on our team need? Why do they think they need it, and how can we give it to them?
Stress makes us more likely to forget how the other guy feels, which is not good for the modern IT department.
In other words, have a little empathy for your team.Make them happy when you need them happy the most, and they'll put their best foot forward when you need them cooperating the most. What do you think? Is empathy an important part of your management tool belt? How do you de-stress your IT team? Do you think your team could use a little more empathy for the strangers inside and outside of your company?
Like Bruce Rosengarten, Langham believes empathy is essential when dealing with clients. Starting his own debtor finance business in Perth in 1998, which he merged with Scottish Pacific in 2007, gave him the perspective that informs his commitment to customer service.
“The defining journey for me was when I started my own business and I realised how lonely it can be as a business owner,” says Langham, who is now based in Sydney.
But empathy does not mean suspending the fundamentals of business.
==========================
To what degree to do you display not just competency, but empathy?”
Enlightened companies are increasingly aware that delivering empathy for their customers, employees, and the public is a powerful tool for improving profits, but attempts to implement empathy programs are frequently hamstrung by the common misconception of it as “wishy-washy,” “touchy-feely,” and overtly feminine.
So empathy is de-prioritized, and relegated to the status of just yet another HR initiative that looks good in the company newsletter. It is seen as a soft and frilly add-on rather than a core tool.
An additional problem facing CEOs is that many see empathy as an intangible quality, and as such hard to quantify. If you can’t measure empathy then it is very difficult to assess how much empathy your company is delivering, and where the greatest empathy deficits lie.
In the USA we consider corporations the same as individuals, therefore it makes sense that they would possess the capacity for empathy. The question is how do we as individuals help corporations discover their empathy and the positive benefits that they can gain by being empathic.
You might think empathy is just a touchie-feelie hippie notion, but it’s also smart business. In today’s technology-driven, often impersonal world, empathy can be your competitive advantage. When you have an empathetic culture, employees have a better understanding of market needs. They build tighter relationships with customers and create products they want. And they work together better as a team. For a small business, this can mean exponentially faster growth.
Here’s how we make empathy part of our culture at Desk and some tips to help your own business leverage it for growth:
"People can be in the exact same setting and have different reactions," Ekman said. "That's why it's so important to look at internal factors, and that's not historically been done for this kind of work."
Cultivating empathy -- the ability to understand the experience of another -- is key to heading off burnout, and that takes simple cognitive shifts,
Ekman explained. A critical step is developing curiosity toward a patient, inmate or client, she said.
Realizing what a person has endured often stokes empathetic feelings, she said.
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