
The Role Of Empathy In Effective Leadership
Depending on where you look, the world seems more divided than ever before. In many ways, society's love of individualism has isolated us. Combined with the hyper-tailored tech algorithms, this has created more siloed conversations and polarizing viewpoints. With such a system to navigate, it's no surprise that empathy for your fellow man isn't often prioritized.
But the truth is that a mass turn to empathy is necessary at this juncture. Nothing will come of dehumanizing others. Now more than ever, we must harness the power of human connection to guide meaningful change, and those in leadership positions can lead the way with their actions.
I'd like to share my views on the power of empathy in leadership. As workplaces become even more diverse and inclusive, empathy has emerged as a critical skill for leaders seeking to foster collaboration, innovation, and trust.
Let's explore this concept and a few ways you can be a more empathetic and effective leader.
Recognize that you set the tone. To maintain good working relationships with others, you must be willing to understand their experiences and perspectives. As we all know, everyone sees the world through a different lens. Even if you don't fully align with others' worldviews, as a leader, you must create an environment where individuals feel heard and respected.
Your actions can open the door to more harmonious and collaborative teams. An empathic leader will often be seen doing the following:
Still unsure if you're creating an understanding environment for your team? Ask them! This can be the first step in fostering honest, open discussions geared towards supporting and understanding one another better.
Operate with perspective and cultivate inclusive practices. In a way, empathy is being able to see through the eyes of others. Many of the unspoken rules of the corporate world are based on the experience of white males in the workforce.
Considering the countless other demographics in the modern workforce, most of these nuances or patterns are outdated, exclusionary, counterproductive, and even harmful to some people. Can you identify any unspoken rules you enforce or adhere to within your career?
Sometimes, they are hard to spot right away. In my research as a DEI professional, I've encountered many unspoken cultural rules that don't consider the perspective of diverse groups.
Here are three examples, although many others could be identified:
By trying to understand the nuances of diverse groups, leaders can eliminate problematic trends like this and tailor their leadership styles to be more inclusive.
Encourage others to ask questions. The absence of curiosity or push-back helps maintain the status quo, which keeps us stuck. To make real change, you must allow everyone to provide insight into what needs improvement in the first place. If someone has an idea about how things could be done better or differently, encourage them to use their voice and talk to others about their ideas.
This kind of collaborative approach fosters more employee engagement, innovation, and stronger teams. While it may result in some uncomfortable conversations, my experience shows me that those are the discussions we need to have the most often. Meaningful and lasting change can only happen if those with vision are empowered to use their voices.
Empathetic leaders create more harmonious workplaces and inspire their teams to perform better. Creating an atmosphere of acceptance and understanding sets the stage for healthier dynamics. In questioning the status quo, you root out any counterproductive trends in company culture that need addressing.
Amplifying diverse voices promotes innovation and paves the way for a more welcoming workplace for all.
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How to deal with loneliness at work
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Forbes
6 hours ago
- Forbes
Allyship Is Leadership: Why People With Power Are An Untapped Resource
Flat vector illustration. Coqual, a research firm focused on inclusion, published the 'What Majority Men Really Think About Diversity and Inclusion' report to help understand how dominant group members felt about diversity and inclusion. Their report revealed an interesting finding. In response to the question, 'How important is diversity and inclusion to you at work?' only 10% said it was not important at all, 48% responded not very or somewhat important, with 42% saying very or extremely important. Coqual labeled these groups accordingly: 10% detractors, 48% persuadables, and 42% true believers. Based on this data, dominant group members appear to be open to diversity and inclusion, despite the perceptions of backlash and corporate retreat. The motivator for these persuadables: leaders who buy into the value proposition of diversity, inclusion, and the core tenets of allyship are 62% more likely to occupy the C-suite. Coqual's findings are consistent with qualitative data my team has gathered in listening sessions or focus groups. We have facilitated these sessions with middle management in organizations to help understand their perceptions of diversity and inclusion. The primary barrier for allyship is the lack of time or prioritization by the organization for them to attend allyship training or Employee Resource Group inclusion programs, followed by a lack of clear direction on what to say or do, resulting in inaction. These hopeful allies often want to be inclusive yet struggle to prioritize the time necessary to educate themselves and show up intentionally and consistently. Allyship Benefits As a social species, humans feel pressure to conform to social expectations, to be helpful and valued by the community. It was and still is necessary for our survival. We have evolved through being in groups and cannot survive alone; we need each other. Allyship principles hit this deep primal need to be relevant to others, to belong, to be a part of something bigger than us. Mental Health America's research indicates 'that those who consistently help other people experience less depression, greater calm, fewer pains, and better health. They may even live longer.' If you want to be happier and live longer, start with relationships. Try being a better ally. The benefits of allyship come in two primary forms, the human case and the business case, or research-backed evidence that diversity and inclusion lead to better outcomes. The human case is more emotional and stickier. It starts by examining your core values, your personal and professional relationships, and your own experiences with people of different backgrounds and lived experiences. In Potentia Talent Consulting Limited's February 2025 Male Allyship survey, they found the primary benefits of allyship were increased trust, connections, and ability to work across different cultures. In a fast-paced global economy, these skills are revered. In my allyship workshops, I usually share my ally why as an example. Allyship is personal for me. As a mother of a child with autism and an LGBTQ+ child and mental health issues present in my family, allyship is a way of life. I want the world to be fairer and more inclusive for my family. I also share a story about my daughter drawing a picture of her playing with a friend. It was the summer of 2020, the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and we had just gotten a box of the new culturally diverse skin tone crayons. Jane, six years old at the time, drew a child of color asking them to be her friend, unprompted. When I inquired about the drawing, she simply replied, 'I want friends that are different from me.' Allyship in principle is so simple, children get it intuitively. It's as we age that we unlearn our curiosity and this deeply primal need for connection. As you reflect on your personal ally why, consider both the human case and the business case. I find that both are critically important to center in your allyship journey. One of my clients, Forté Foundation, an organization that promotes gender equality and allyship in higher education, has led a men as allies program since 2016. One of the first activities they recommend to senior male executives is conducting an interview with someone with different identities from themselves. Hundreds of alumni over the years have validated that this activity was most impactful for them as an ally. In their program, Forté recommends that the man ask a woman in their life about their personal experiences with their gender identity through a series of semi-structured open-ended questions that start with what or how. Consider facilitating a conversation with someone different from yourself by asking: A strong word of caution here. Please do not interview someone you have not already built trust with; it may have a negative effect on the relationship. Also, do not only talk to your children, especially your daughters. Having a daughter is one reason to be an ally, but it needs to go deeper than that. The business case for diversity and inclusion is strong. McKinsey & Company is best known for their bi-annual Diversity Matters report. Since 2015, they have reported significantly higher probabilities of higher profitability associated with diversity and inclusion. Their 2024 report found a 39% higher chance of profitability with a gender and ethnically diverse leadership team compared to industry peers. What other opportunity in business could give you this type of return? The caveat is that diverse representation is not enough to achieve these outcomes. The organization also needs to have an inclusive environment to fully feel this impact. Diversity does not work without inclusion. Thus, the need for allies. Boston Consulting Group's study on How Diverse Teams Boost Innovation's biggest takeaway is a 'statistically significant correlation between the diversity of management teams and overall innovation. Companies that reported above-average diversity on their management teams also reported innovation revenue that was 19% higher than that of companies with below-average leadership diversity: 45% of total revenue versus just 26%.' In a hypercompetitive world where it is easy to copy a product, service, or price overnight, an inclusive culture is much more of a sustainable competitive advantage. It takes time to build and maintain an inclusive culture, making it difficult for a competitor to copy quickly. Perhaps the strongest evidence we have for the business case for diversity and inclusion is the newest generation entering the workforce: Generation Z. Born 1997 to 2012, Gen Z is unlike previous generations that were less likely to question authority and abide by workplace norms. They were raised in a much different environment. Growing up in the height of immigration in the United States, there is no majority race for Gen Z and they increasingly see gender as fluid or a continuum rather than a binary. The world is not black or white or women or men to them. I teach a class on inclusive leadership at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and my students teach me that they were raised in a diverse environment and expect inclusion of differences. That is an important distinction for leaders who hope to be relevant to future consumers and employees. study validates this with 83% of Gen Z prioritizing diversity and inclusion when deciding where to apply for employment. 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People also prefer manbassador, accomplice, femannist, or advocate, yet there is no consensus on the word we use. I'm indifferent on what we call it, but we do need language to describe this behavior. If allyship was more common, I would agree we wouldn't need a word for it. The reality is we need language to describe these concepts. Without language, meaning is lost. Leadership has been well researched and studied. In 2016, Deloitte coined the six signature traits of inclusive leadership: cognizance or self-awareness, curiosity, cultural intelligence, commitment, courage, and collaboration. Rarely are leaders effective at all of these trades. Usually, there's a basket of strengths and those that you might choose to develop. In fact, self-awareness is shockingly low for leaders, with 85% of people claiming to be self-aware and only 15% have achieved that status, according to research by Dr. Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist and author. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) measures cultural competency using five stages of development for inclusive leadership or allyship. Reflect on this continuum and be honest about where you might be now. Most people progress through these cultural competencies at their own pace. For some, the human case and business case can accelerate the process through denial and polarization. That is where fear and refusal to acknowledge power live. Having a strong why is essential before doing the work of acceptance and adaptation. Be honest about the stage that you are currently occupying, and remember you may occupy different stages in considering different identities or lived experiences of others. There are no shortcuts or fast forward buttons, as allyship is a practice. 'Success' might be considered not naming yourself as an ally, but rather being called an ally by someone in a community you want to impact. It's important to acknowledge each phase as a chance to be in an ally and realize that people can move toward greater skill, and move back to learning mode again, when they encounter challenges. The agility, humility, and curiosity of the aspiring inclusive leader is the key. One of my favorite exercises to facilitate as a part of an allyship program is what I call an allyship SWOT analysis. Like business, the S stands for your personal strengths, W represents your personal weaknesses, O's are opportunities to leverage your strengths, and T's are threats you need to mitigate for your weaknesses. Reflect on previous chapters, thinking about your fears as your weaknesses and access points to power as your strengths. Complete your allyship SWOT with guiding questions below: We know that with exposure to diversity, an inclusive mindset usually follows. Psychologists call this 'exposure therapy,' where they attempt to get their patients to increase their exposure to experiences they are fearful of to help lower their fear and anxiety through exposure over time. For diversity, this can also work when done intentionally, consistently, and gradually over time. For many Americans, university or their first job is their first experience with diversity. For me, that was my first corporate job working as a warehouse supervisor. For the first time, I was working with people from vastly different backgrounds, racially, culturally, and socioeconomically. At first, I felt those differences viscerally. I was anxious and fearful. Over time, as I got to know people as humans, I learned to embrace those differences. It made our team stronger. We ultimately won the coveted chairman's award for our team's engagement, a 95% score where industry averages hovered around 70%, an achievement that we would not have had without a diverse and inclusive workforce. Employee engagement is highly correlated with business performance. Highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable than organizations with low levels of engagement. Engaged companies grow profits up to three times faster than their competitors. As an ally, lean into your strengths and try to overcome your weaknesses. Expose yourself proactively to people and experiences that are different. It will make you a better ally, and a more effective leader. Allyship Is Leadership Reflect when you have been a part of a diverse and inclusive team, weren't the outcomes better? If you are unsure, this is what it looks like when you have a diverse and inclusive group: Allyship is leadership. There is no shortage of leadership books. Most focus on the importance of being self-aware and leading by example, self-awareness about understanding our lived experiences and biases. Because most of us have affinity bias ('like me' bias), we also have networks that are like us. Ninety five percent of people have like-me networks and 90% of people hire people from their networks, according to HubSpot research. Hiring managers are more likely to choose people they would like to have lunch with versus objectively qualified for the job. This is an opportunity for improved leadership through allyship. This reinforces the need for allies to broaden networks and grant equitable access to power and resources. The time is now to address this most certain business problem. Inclusion is non-negotiable for Generation Z. I have frequent conversations with my business school students and can tell you with certainty that younger generations were raised to care about and discuss social issues, and that does not stop in the workplace. Like a cake that has already been baked, inclusive values are inside Generation Z; there is no removing it. If you want to be relevant to future generations as a leader, consider this your call to action to allyship. What small step will you take today to share your power? August 8 is International Allyship Day. Celebrate and engage people with power in allyship and inclusion.


New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Can My Boss Bring His ‘Situationship' to Hang Out All Day at the Office?
The Office Pet My boss, whom I love as a dear friend, has taken to bringing his 'situationship' (a.k.a. not his partner or boyfriend) into the office to 'work.' (This man is not an employee of the company.) Sometimes it is two full days a week, and the 'sitch' will often sit at my desk, where private documents kept or sensitive phone calls with sources are taking place. (We work with highly sensitive information on a global scale.) Here's a typical day: He'll be signed in around 9 a.m., work unsupervised, or sometimes wander about. He'll take calls and enjoy the meager company snacks. He'll keep clothes and shoes at vacant desks. Sometimes I'll get word he is in the office and will turn around and go home. My boss has a high position in the company and is beloved. His boss sits on another floor and has an immensely stressful job. People who sit near my boss are fed up with this annoying — at best — behavior. At worst, it is a gross abuse of power. But they are afraid to report. I privately reported to two higher-ups (not his boss), and nothing was done. I don't want him to get in trouble, but this has gone on for over six months and it is affecting my sanity! — Anonymous I'm not sure there's a way to save your sanity without getting your boss 'in trouble,' or, at the very least, creating a certain amount of tension. Though I understand that he is a 'dear friend,' the situation is causing you so much consternation that you've already taken steps to privately report him. This suggests to me that the situation is unsustainable. What you don't say in your letter is why you haven't said anything to your boss directly. Why not try this tactic? I'm curious whether your objections are moral, personal, ethical or all of the above. Is it the mere presence of the situationship in your work space that you take issue with? Is it a personality issue with the individual himself? The answers to these questions should help you determine what steps to take next, or how to communicate your displeasure. For example, personal objections, however real, are not worth bringing into the discussion with your boss. But your concerns about privacy and personal work space are, and should be communicated. Rather than suggesting your boss's indiscretions are creating discomfort, you should approach him with your concerns about confidentiality and the inappropriateness of your desk space being taken over by another person. This will depersonalize the issue, I think, and make your boss less likely to get defensive. And if you haven't already — it's unclear to whom you've reported your concerns — go to H.R. Unless of course, H.R. is also so under your boss's spell that it is reluctant to approach him directly. In which case, my advice remains the same: Speak to your boss himself. It may not make a difference, but at the very least, you can say you tried. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.