Empathy used to sound to me like a weak word associated with touchy-feely concepts. But in recent years, I have come to understand that it is actually an incredibly powerful concept. If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things …
6 Reasons Empathetic Thinking Is Powerful for Leaders
- It puts you into “Seek First to Understand” mode….
- Most people never listen, so people will notice the difference if you do. Ernest Hemingway said it well. ….
- It allows people to connect emotionally, so they can actually listen to your logic. “We are not thinking machines,” George Washington University neurology professor Richard Restak argues. ….
- Empathy kicks you out of self-absorption. …. Relating with empathy involves recognizing and treating others as equals, and to validate that they are people, too, fully experiencing events in their own way.
- Your empathetic thinking makes your audience more receptive to being influenced by you. Mirror neurons cause your audience to have the same brain activity based on your actions, thoughts, and feelings. ….
- Empathy moves you toward mutuality. Research psychologist David Burnham says that mutuality leads to actions that demonstrate emotional intelligence, which leads to higher levels of employee engagement and morale.
by JESSE LAHEY
