The CEOs of Microsoft, Warby Parker, and KIND have something in common which is not readily apparent from their resumes. These three highly successful CEOs have all publicly acknowledged the power and importance of empathy in their leadership styles.
They identify empathy as a critical source of innovation, advancement, kindness, social justice, and connection to consumer needs. KIND CEO Daniel Lubetsky has shared his opinion that empathy has been largely overlooked in the business world, and he’s not alone.
According to researchers in the field of organizational development, empathy has been an underappreciated and understudied leadership quality.
To understand how we can create healthier organizational cultures through empathic leadership, we first need to understand the process of empathy, how it can be nurtured, and its effects. Psychologists have been at the forefront of this endeavor.
In 1909, psychologist Edward Titchener brought the word “empathy” into the English language from his translation of the German term “Einfühlung,” which means “feeling into.” When we empathize with someone, we are “feeling our way into” that person’s life experience. This usually involves cognitive and emotional perspective-taking. Psychologist Alfred Adler described it as seeing with another’s eyes, hearing with their ears, and feeling with their heart.
Carl Rogers emphasized the attitudinal stance around empathy in his person-centered school of thought. As Rogers saw it, attempts to take someone’s perspective should be rooted in a spirit of genuine curiosity and openness. When we are empathically attuned to someone, we are sensing their “inner world of private personal meanings” as if they were our own. This prepares us to convey that understanding back to the person we are listening to, as best we can, without judgment.
A number of studies have associated leaders’ empathic expression with stronger employee well-being and connection to their organizations. Not only is empathy in leadership tied to higher levels of respect, loyalty, trust, and commitment among employees, but it can also play a role in reducing conflicts and misunderstandings. Empathic leaders are more likely to correct their mistakes and make decisions that are more easily accepted, simply because they have taken the time to understand where their employees are coming from.
In one study, negative feedback delivered by leaders showing empathic concern resulted in less negative emotion and more positive emotion than feedback delivered without that concern. Empathy was conveyed in statements like “I absolutely understand how tiring and tedious this process can be – I can imagine what you’re thinking and feeling.” When embedded in workplace culture, this type of expressed care, also called “companionate love,” is linked to lower levels of workplace absenteeism and physical exhaustion.
If it is true, as Carl Rogers says, that empathy “is one of the most delicate and powerful ways of using ourselves,” we can feel even more hopeful in knowing that people can learn how to be more empathic. In other words, empathy can be trained.
In the healthcare field, empathy interventions for students and providers have involved the use of arts and literature, reflective writing, experiential exercises to simulate patient experiences, shadowing, and communication skills practice. Participants reported that these approaches improved patient-provider relationships and holistic care. Motivational interviewing offers another evidence-based way to strengthen empathic attunement. In this conversation style, participants practice listening carefully and offering back inferred meaning from what they heard as reflective listening statements.
Authors Kenneth Nowack and Paul Zak make 10 recommendations for empathy enhancement in the context of leadership. These include compassion-based mindfulness meditation, healthy lifestyle practices to improve self-care, empathy-based perspective-taking, the creation of team-based empathy norms, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and supporting a culture of appreciation.
Promoting empathy in leadership is clearly a promising pathway to creating happier, healthier, more productive employees and work environments. Raising awareness of empathy’s value among leaders may result in its more frequent inclusion in strategic planning and vision statements.
At its core, empathy is about stepping into the unknown of another’s world. It deepens our appreciation of people’s fundamental humanity, and in doing so, increases the depth and meaning of our connection to them. Our warm, caring bonds to others are indispensable psychological nourishment, central to our personal growth and adjustment, and just as necessary for nurturing sustainable systemic and institutional wellness.
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