While there are many types of leadership styles, there is one type of leadership style that involves active listening and uses sympathy and empathy in their leadership and management style.
Unlike authoritarian leaders, this leadership style considers the person’s feelings and needs, making the employee feels valued and bring out the best of each team members.
Empathy is an emotion that helps connect people, helps to build rapport, and is an essential element that allows different individuals to understand each other.
Leaders who lead with empathy are few and far between, but empathy is the key for the leaders to connect with their people, and empathy has become even more important in the current times.
What is Empathetic Leadership Style
Empathetic leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on understanding the needs of others, being aware of their feeling and concerns. Leaders who adopt empathetic leadership recognize emotions and share perspectives with their people.
Empathetic leaders are aware of the needs of their people and will quickly provide the appropriate assistance. Empathetic leadership is a positive form of leadership that focuses on building strong relationships with employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
People who are led by this leadership style will feel cared for and supported and the goal of this approach is to achieve real and meaningful relationships with people.
Characteristics of Empathetic Leadership
Empathetic leaders are leaders who will be able to anticipate the needs of others and allow them to grow and develop. They will act as a parent of their people, grooming and nurturing their people so they will mature and become more independent.
Empathetic leaders have the following characteristics.
- Approachable. Empathetic leaders are approachable, easy to talk to, and make those around them feel at ease. They are leaders that are down-to-earth and easy to relate to. Furthermore, they are good listeners and they don’t put themselves above others.
- Flexible. Empathetic leaders are flexible and able to adapt to changes in the environment and motivate their teams to do the same. They are able to think on their feet and make decisions quickly in order to take advantage of opportunities or address challenges.
- High Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Empathetic leaders have high EQ and are able to read people and situations well. They know how to motivate and inspire those around them. And they aren’t easily rattled in difficult times.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Leading with Empathy in The Workplace
Practice empathetic leadership at work can offer many benefits such as increase happiness at work, recognize signs of overwork and being more connected with team members. However, empathetic leadership skills are not easy to learn and can come with a few drawbacks.
Advantage of Empathetic Leadership
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. When leaders are able to empathize with their followers, they are better able to connect with them on a personal level, which can lead to a more effective and productive team.
1. Improve productivity
Leaders who adopt empathetic leadership create an environment where the team feels comfortable taking risks and sharing new ideas which help to improve the overall productivity of the team.
This is mainly because employees who felt their boss cared about them as people were more likely to be engaged in their work and felt more committed to their organization.
In contrast, employees who felt their boss was indifferent or uninterested in them were less productive and more likely to perform the minimum.
2. Improve efficiency
Empathic leaders are able to understand the personal needs of their team members and create an environment where team members work together to help each other rather than compete against one another.
By understanding the employees’ perspectives, empathetic leaders are able to build better relationships, resolve conflicts, and make better decisions.
This subsequently helps to improve communication that can lead to increased efficiency as the employees feel more understood and appreciated.
3. Improve employee satisfaction and retention
Empathetic leadership helps create a positive work environment where employees feel appreciated and valued.
Leaders displaying empathy can help to increased employee satisfaction and lower turnover rates.
Low employee satisfaction can lead to high resignation, which resigning employees can negatively affect the other employees, dragging down the morale and reducing the overall productivity.
Furthermore, increasing the retention rate prevent disruptions and save organizations money in the long run.
Disadvantages of Empathetic Leadership
Empathetic leadership is about understanding the need of their people, connecting with the people, and understanding them. But there are a few major disadvantages of empathetic leadership because they are focused on others’ feelings rather than on the task at hand.
1. Poor Decision Making
A leader who is overly empathetic often makes poorer decisions, this is because empathy creates a bias towards others’ emotions, at the expense of considering other factors that may be important for making a good decision.
Empathy is often considered a key factor in the formation of moral values and in social behavior, but it can also lead to altruism, which is when an individual helps another person at a cost to themselves.
For example, a leader who is empathetic may be more likely to make a decision that benefits others even if it is not the best decision for the organization as a whole.
2. Lack of Confidence
Empathetic leaders show to be less confident in their abilities. The reason for this is that empathy requires vulnerability and self-awareness, which may be seen as signs of weakness.
When we focus on others’ feelings and emotions, we lack the confidence to focus on our own, which leads to unsure about which decision is right for the situation.
3. Emotional Distress
Empathetic leaders find it difficult to strike the right balance between being empathetic and effective. Too much empathy can lead to distress in leaders, which may adversely affect their work as they are constantly exposed to the emotions of others.
A leader needs to consider the emotions of not just one but many others.
The mind or heart simply cannot hold so many emotions at a single time. These leaders may lead to suffering from burnout.
Is Empathetic Leadership Style Always Good?
Empathy is a highly valuable quality in any leader. But like all leadership styles, empathy has both positive and negative consequences for leaders and it is not suitable for all situations.
The biggest disadvantage of an empathetic leader is the probability of making poorer decisions that are influenced by emotions.
While the biggest benefit of empathy is it’s the ability to connect with people and to quickly gain respect from their people for a more effective and productive team.
Thus, the challenge lies in finding the right balance between being empathetic and effective.
When is Empathetic Leadership Important?
Empathetic leadership is important when a leader needs to build rapport with their employees, where they can connect with the emotions of the employee for their wellbeing.
- Empathy is important when the leader wants to create an open-minded positive working environment for the people where feedback is voluntarily given.
- Empathy is important when the leader wants to resolve any potential conflict or arguments between the employees or, due to management.
- Empathy is important when the leader wants to cultivate a compassionate working environment where the people are willing to take the risk to grow and develop.
- Empathy is important when the leader wants to collaborate cross-functionally or in cross-cultural organizations.
- Empathy is important when the leader wants to nurture and develop their people by listening to their needs and wants.
Empathetic leadership helps the leader to motivate employees, improve overall productivity, and job satisfaction.
Empathetic leadership is an important leadership style for the leader to understand the root cause behind poor performance or objections and explore new ways to improve the work environment and work culture.
Creating a good working atmosphere in the workplace can be done by simply letting the employees know that their opinions are being heard.
Empathetic leadership is not restricted to the workplace; it can be implemented in any situation where a leader has influence over others, whether inside or outside of the workplace
Famous Empathetic Leaders That Lead With Empathy
Best empathetic leaders are those who can put themselves in other people’s shoes and understand their feelings and experiences. They are able to feel compassion and connect with others on a deep level.
Here are a few famous empathetic leaders throughout our history.
- Nelson Mandela. He is willing to sacrifice his needs for the needs of the greater good, as he leads to freeing his country into a new era of unity.
- Oprah Winfrey. Understanding people like a mother, genuinely connect and inspire people in a positive and meaningful way.
- Mother Teresa. Selflessly sacrifice herself to care for the sick and needy regardless of who they are and where they are from.
Empathy is a powerful force that can be used to transform the world. Leaders who display this quality are able to inspire, motivate, and encourage others. They are able to unite, heal, and create unity among people.
“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up.”
Jesse Jackson
Should a Leader Be Empathetic?
Leading with empathy can be beneficial to any team or organization. By taking an interest in and understanding the feelings of others, empathetic leaders create a positive and supportive environment, which leads to better productivity and morale.
If you are looking to improve your leadership skills, consider using empathy to connect with those you lead.
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