{"id":534,"date":"2021-03-10T09:35:03","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T14:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/school-of-management-leadership\/?p=534"},"modified":"2022-01-10T10:19:14","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T15:19:14","slug":"leading-with-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/school-of-management-leadership\/2021\/03\/10\/leading-with-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading with empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why empathy makes sense for business leaders\u2014and how you can develop this critical skill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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By Aisha K. O\u2019Mally <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Aisha K. O’Mally<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the scholarly world, empathy as it relates to effective leadership is a frequently recurring theme. For example, in their 2009 paper<\/a>, E. Isaac Mostovicz, Nadia Kakabadse and Andrew Kakabadse emphasize the importance of empathy as a critical focal point for leaders that necessitates continuous work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we examine some amazing leaders in recent history\u2014John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, just to name a few\u2014these individuals are often described as charismatic. But when we dig a little deeper, we see that their levels of empathy, emotional intelligence, commitment, inspirational motivation and trustworthiness were central in making them the remarkable leaders they became.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s workplace, empathy, social skills and interpersonal communication are often undertrained and underdeveloped within companies, creating a trend of leadership that is void of these skills. As a result, we see higher levels of employer-employee abuse that can lead to growing employee disenfranchisement and all that comes with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, though, the business world is shifting for many different reasons, including generational changes in the workplace and the recent move to remote work due to COVID-19, which has left many people feeling the pressure from home and work more intensely. Today, it is essential for managers to become inspirational leaders who motivate and support others with emotional intelligence, empathy and understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is empathy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In its simplest form, empathy is the ability to recognize emotions in others and understand another person\u2019s perspective on a situation. At its most developed, empathy enables you to use that recognized insight to improve someone else\u2019s mood and support them through challenging situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, there are three types of empathy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n