Empathy in the Workplace

I've been designing computer interfaces for almost 15 years, and I've had the great fortune to work with some great designers and some well-meaning, but terrible ones.

The difference, I've come to understand, isn't technical skill or training - it's empathy.

The two keys to great design.
1. Know your user.
2. Know what they're trying to do.

Here’s my take on empathy in sales situations: Although “personal empathy” often has its place, I believe that it is always a sales professional’s job to demonstrate what I’ll call “business empathy” with clients and prospects.

That means having a keen understanding, awareness and sensitivity to the business issues and challenges that the prospect is experiencing. It means having enough depth of understanding to relate to those issues and challenges in ways that show concern and alignment.

And it means positioning the right products and services within the context of those issues and challenges.

Most people don’t associate the word “empathy” with effective leadership.

Business leaders are supposed to be tough, hard-driving visionaries who set a firm course for the company and then lead people in that direction with their charisma and force of personality, right? Maybe in the old “command and control” leadership model. Not so much in the new.

Today’s leaders need a slightly different approach if they want to inspire and engage their followers. They still need the visionary and strategic direction setting skills. And they need empathy if they want to enlist others in achieving objectives.

So what is empathy and why is it so important?

Empathy is the power to project oneself into the personality of another individual in order to better comprehend that individuals emotions or feelings.

With empathic listening the listener lets the speaker know, “I comprehend your issue and how you feel about it, I’m interested in what you’re saying and I’m not judging you.”

Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in some else's position and to intuit what that person is feeling. It is the ability to stand in others' shoes, to see with their eyes, and to feel with their hearts.

Here are three ways to help make sure your feedback is compassionate, not just critical:

1. Ask permission. Start by asking 'Can I give you some feedback?' This gives the person a moment to prepare and evens out the power dynamic.

2. Don't hedge. Be direct and honest. Don't try to couch the criticism in compliments -- that only dilutes

We subconsciously switch our body posture to match that of the other person - mirroring that person’s nonverbal behaviour . .

When using mirroring in a business setting, you will know that you have developed mutual rapport if your partner begins to mirror you in return. Change your arm position and see if she will match your movement into the new posture. If you were to use this technique in a sales presentation, and your prospect subconsciously matched your body language, it would be a signal of trust and rapport. But if your prospect mismatched, you should consider the possibility that she isn’t yet convinced.

The neuroscience behind limbic synchrony has everything to do with the discovery of mirror neurons and how empathy develops in the brain.

A while back I wrote a blog about resilience being one of the most important qualities for today’s leaders. A number of readers agreed with me, and one went on to point out another very important leadership trait that often gets overlooked – empathy.

Most people don’t associate the word “empathy” with effective leadership. Business leaders are supposed to be tough, hard-driving visionaries who set a firm course for the company and then lead people in that direction with their charisma and force of personality, right?

Most people don’t associate the word “empathy” with effective leadership.