Why do some leaders struggle with empathetic leadership?
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Director of IT in Software2 years ago
I don't understand why but some leaders don't want to be seen as vulnerable. Is it that much below you to have a human conversation with somebody and provide space for their emotions? It seems that some leaders want to put up this facade that they have no feelings and only care about getting the job done.Senior Executive Advisor in Software2 years ago
A lot of management and leadership books will say that you have to be personable and you have to approach people. But then they’ll also say that you need to keep your personal life and professional life separate. That's the old school style of management and it's very wrong. After the last two years, there is no division between your personal and professional life. We invited everyone into our kitchens and living rooms the minute we went remote, so that thinking is no longer relevant. Unfortunately, that militaristic view of things still has a strong influence on people and they don't like to wear their heart on their sleeve as a result. Chief Data and Analytics Officer in Bankinga year ago
Not all assigned leaders should lead people.There is a school of thought that thought leaders or specialists can be effective leaders of teams or people. However, I believe that empathy is essential for effective leadership.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. I firmly believe that empathy is the most important quality for a leader. It is about being sensitive to the opinions, worldviews, and experiences of others.
CTO in Healthcare and Biotecha year ago
Recently my latest boss ( Not leader ) used micromanagement leadership to all of us, he’d found it useful and would claim that he’d resisted using empathetic leadership because it wouldn’t be “productive” to him. I think people like him are afraid of being an empathetic leader because that would show themselves and to others as being vulnerable and caring, which they wouldn’t know what to do.
They would not care to change for and to anyone.
Chief Data Officer in Mediaa year ago
Empathic leadership is poorly understood. Empathy puts people at the center and makes people the focal point for measuring leadership effectiveness. Aligning business goals with organization, team, and individual goals is a critical function of the empathetic leader.Hiring people with natural alignment is one example of how empathetic leaders accomplish that. Setting individual incentives that reward contributions to top-down goals is another. Empathetic leaders create opportunities for growth to help individuals advance on their chosen career paths.
Empathy is a set of behaviors designed to improve people-centric outcomes that align with business outcomes. Most discussions focus on emotions instead of outcomes. Empathetic leadership outcomes have an emotional component, but the goal is to create a place for everyone on the team. Individuals and the larger team should know where each person fits and the value they create. That develops a sense of belonging and purpose.