Empathic Leadership Explained: Leading with Heart

“People respond in accordance to how you treat them.” — Nelson Mandela

For today’s leaders, the spotlight is on empathy like never before. From CEOs to front-line managers, empathy is no longer an optional ‘soft skill’ but a critical competency. In today’s stressful and ever changing work environments, high executives are increasingly expected to demonstrate empathic leadership, especially in tough situations like organisational changes.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of what leading with empathy is, how to start developing this important leadership quality and the benefits of becoming a more empathetic leader.

In a nutshell:

1. You need more empathy. Empathy is not just an important leadership quality, the business outcomes empathy allows leaders to achieve are substantial.
2. Empathy is your superpower as a leader. More empathy will enable you to motivate, inspire and get team members aligned and engaged.
3. A lack of empathy is your ceiling. There is no way around it in the modern workplace (which is a very positive shift in the way we do business). Empathy might be the most well-kept secret to success for senior leaders.

What’s all the Hype about Empathy in the Workplace?

Empathy is crucially important in today’s workplace, now more than ever. More and more, research is elevating empathy to an invaluable skill for effective leadership (Forbes, 2021). Don’t be tempted to think that empathy is a trendy buzzword, it is here to stay.

In 2023 Disney surprised with an abrupt CEO change, rehiring Robert A. Iger a short year after leaving. The New York Times reported that his predecessor Bob Chapek showed a ‘lack of empathy and emotional intelligence’ which caused “irreparable damage to his ability to lead” (, 2023). In January 2023 Google faced significant public criticism for insufficient empathy when they laid off 12,000 employees by notifying them via email or locking them out of their work accounts overnight. No commentary needed.

These criticisms aren’t isolated incidents but symbolise a broader trend towards an empathetic leadership style in organisations, even traditional ones. Businesses are evolving to be more human-centric, moving away from controlling and rigid mindsets, and towards fostering empowerment and influencing through empathy, understanding, and respect.

If you don’t know how to do this, you are at a huge disadvantage and your leadership progression will suffer.

The Essence of Empathic Leadership

Taking time to connect at a human level saves time and enhances productivity.

Many leaders are so focused on the “business” aspect that they overlook the fact that business is carried out by and revolves around people. To enhance business, a leader needs to know how their people tick, what they need, what motivates them and how to support them. They need to better understand human nature and how to lead from people’s strengths.

Rest assured that the business outcomes empathy enables are not only about the work-life balance of employees or their emotional wellbeing. Taking time to connect at a human level is not a waste of time; on the contrary, it saves time and enhances productivity.

Highly empathetic senior leaders are more able to drive their business towards its goals and do so with more ease, precisely because employees feel more trusting, cared for and fulfilled.

If you want to move your culture towards more harmony and humanity while keeping or enhancing productivity, empathy is the crucial skill to master.

What is Empathy?

Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s experience and appreciate what they think and feel. It involves three key aspects: intellectual understanding, emotional understanding, and converting that understanding into meaningful actions.

Empathy is achieved through a process of imagination, often likened to contemplating stepping into someone else’s shoes or seeing the world through their eyes.

Try imagining descending from your own mountain, with its familiar vistas, and momentarily climbing the other person’s mountain. Be open and willing to gain a different perspective and understand why they see and feel things the way they do, and to accept this experience as real and valid.

You don’t agree nor disagree; you simply understand. You strive to “get” people without identifying with their views or experiences. Their perspectives and responses remain their own (and so do yours).

Empathy doesn’t entail experiencing another person’s emotions (this is sympathy or pity). Rather, it involves grasping their viewpoints and emotional experiences with an open mind and heart.

With high-calibre empathy, you are able to listen and empathise with anyone about anything and truly consider diverse perspectives. Even when team members present the exact opposite point of view to yours or say things that challenge your values, you listen openly, leaving them feeling really heard.

Clearly, achieving this level of empathy requires a high degree of mastery over your thoughts and emotions. You also need to refrain from giving advise, criticising or judging or even siding with them.

Empathy isn’t just about understanding—it’s also about action. People feel your genuine care when you convey your knowledge of their needs and perspectives in both your words and your actions and decisions. The opposite is also true.

What is Empathic Leadership? How do you Lead with Empathy?

An empathetic leader has a way of being that sends calming, trusting signals through the day.

Empathic leadership, or empathetic leadership, is a management style centred on understanding people’s opinions, feelings, and needs and creating an inclusive space where all team members feel acknowledged, respected and valued.

Becoming comfortable with people’s emotional responses and experiences is a requirement to show them that they matter as individuals to their leadership and to the organisation.

Empathetic leaders build a caring culture with their daily shows of empathy, regard and care for everyone. They make space for people to share their feelings and needs and show concern for their well-being.

They shed judgment and criticism and have learnt to offer honest feedback that enhances growth while making individuals feel valued at the same time.

Empathic leaders cultivate inclusive environments that put people first. They take into account diverse viewpoints and work to integrate them, finding solutions that benefit everyone. They welcome all perspectives, distilling noncontroversial elements and skilfully transforming disagreements into shared understanding and progress.

I consider empathy to be a leader’s superpower. Master empathy and you will better facilitate more harmonious and effective teamwork and positive outcomes.

Research Reveals the Benefits of Empathic Leadership

Empathetic leaders show enhanced conflict resolution, ultimately fostering innovation and development

Empathy is emerging as one of the most valued leadership traits by employees. In a recent Forbes article (Forbes 2023), Catalyst showcased their research findings from interviews with nearly 900 US employees across industries. The overall consensus was that empathetic leadership is not only essential to employees’ well-being but also crucial for their willingness to contribute and remain committed to the organisation.

Some key outcomes that employees attributed to highly empathetic managers:

• boosting engagement at work
• increasing innovation
• decreasing burnout
• enhancing employee retention

Less empathetic leaders were viewed as less respected and engendering distrust, even anxiety and fear. The way they treat people was perceived to discourage loyalty and retention.

In contrast, empathetic leaders were generally perceived as more flexible, more understanding of team members’ needs and life situations, valuing mental health and well-being, and fostering diversity and inclusion.

As leaders develop empathy, they realise that solving problems is more easily achieved when they regularly make themselves available to their employees and support them to develop and to find their own solutions. In turn, employees become more willing to be influenced and feel more motivated. Furthermore, job satisfaction increases engagement.

By forging stronger connections with team members, they are able to include more perspectives and prevent and handle conflict more effectively. No one is left behind, trust grows, and staff morale improves. This promotes more effective collaboration and innovation.

Characteristics of Empathetic Leadership

Empathetic leaders are masterful at active listening.

Empathetic leaders are not born. They have developed their competence over time.

The traits of empathetic leadership?

(1) self-awareness of their own and others’ emotions (emotional intelligence)

(2) authentic concern for their team, and

(3) exceptional ability to create a safe space and build relationships

High Emotional Intelligence

Empathetic leaders have acquired “emotional literacy”, which allows them to effectively understand and connect with the emotions of their team members, colleagues and stakeholders.

The core of emotional intelligence involves first understanding your own emotions and needs. From this self-awareness, you can understand those of others.

To control your behaviour and words effectively, you first need to identify your emotions and understand how they influence your actions. Think how hard it is to have control what you say or your tone of voice when you are really upset and cannot bring yourself back to balance.

Genuine Concern

A leader who shows concern and genuine care for people’s needs and how they manifest in each individual, is golden. Care is demonstrated in open and honest conversations that respect what is being shared without judgment, and by acting on those conversations.

Take care of the core needs of your employees:

• Show that they personally matter (what is happening in their personal lives, their interests),
• Acknowledge and appreciate their contributions to the team and organisation
• Give them sufficient autonomy (delegating is not just for your benefit!)
• Provide guidance and support them to grow and develop

Strong Relationship-Building Skills

Positive emotions and a sense of connectedness enhance collaboration.

Each time you acknowledge and respect each team member’s unique viewpoints, feelings, and diverse perspectives, you build trust. This trust forms a solid foundation for relationships, making people feel safe in expressing their thoughts, concerns, and being their authentic selves.

A culture of empathy thrives when management fosters an environment of genuine consideration and inclusion for everyone. This kind of atmosphere encourages team members to voice their challenges and ideas without fearing judgment, leading to deeper connections and a more collaborative workplace.

4 Strategies for Becoming a more Empathetic Leader

Developing empathy for leaders is an ongoing journey, but a wonderful one that will see your relationships improve across the board, not just at work.

The best way to learn is by connecting gradually and naturally, especially if empathy hasn’t been your focus before. Make room for deeper conversations, listen attentively, demonstrate your understanding, and continually work on shifting any perspectives that hinder your belief in people. Get better at these 4 skills:

1. Practice Active Listening

Listening to understand people takes many forms but always connects

High quality listening requires being fully present so that you can give your complete attention.

You are mostly quiet, listening, gathering information neutrally. And yet in the stillness and silence you are quite active.

Maintain eye contact, refrain from interjections, and be open to any ideas. Create a safe space.

Let yourself feel curiosity for the speaker’s perspective until you understand what is important to them (their needs). Detect nonverbal expressions and emotions.

A few open-ended or clarifying questions can be supportive, but avoid interrogating.

You do have time. Listening actually saves time. Taking a moment to listen can provide you with valuable insights, enabling you to respond more effectively to any needs or concerns they may have. In the long run, it reduces misunderstandings and helps people feel more connected.

2. Demonstrate Deeper Understanding: Show, Don’t Tell

Show people what you got from what they said. Showing is better than telling.

Showing people you understand goes a long way in creating connection. Avoid catch-all phrases such as “I understand,” or “I get you.”

Instead, express in your own words what you understand matters to them, or the gist of what they shared, as though you were holding up a mirror. Try “What I heard you say is that…, is that right?”

Reflecting what you have understood (without adding your own interpretations) helps your team members feel heard, valued and respected. They get the subliminal powerful message that they matter because they see you investing time in coming to grips with their perspective and how they feel.

3. Become more aware of your perceptions

How you see people affects how you relate to them. 

Your perception of others—what you believe about them—shapes how you interact with them. This perception influences both your verbal and nonverbal communication.

To lead with true empathy, it’s crucial to see and accept individuals in the fullness of their humanity. People experience a range of emotions: they might be content and satisfied at times, or insecure and overwhelmed at others.

These emotions significantly affect their behaviour and performance. By being present and holding their human experience in safety, even when it’s difficult, you can help them regulate their emotions. This, in turn, can improve people’s performance and overall well-being at work.

4. Learn to seek and include all perspectives

Today’s highly diverse and global work environments require leaders to be adept at understanding and accepting differences.

Refining the skill of empathic listening enables you to seamlessly embrace diverse perspectives, extract information that supports common objectives, while showing respect for everyone involved. This ensures that each team member feels valued, regardless of the initial differences in their viewpoints.

By actively incorporating dissenting voices, you empower your team to make decisions that more accurately reflect collective wisdom. Embracing various perspectives is a powerful catalyst for creativity, expanding the team’s horizon and generating innovative and mutually beneficial solutions.

The trust built through a deeper understanding fosters an environment where individuals feel at ease sharing openly, breaking down barriers that hinder communication, such as power dynamics.

Highly empathetic senior leaders shape the cultural tone

Empathic senior leaders have a vital role to play, as everyone looks up to them to emulate. With their every action, and their approach, they set the tone and the pulse of the culture.

Whether they prioritise people or leave them behind, take a moment to listen to someone or ignore them, acknowledge and address people’s needs or bypass them—these daily actions jointly reveal what the organisation truly values: its people and their contributions, or just the output they produce.

The critical skill for effective leaders is empathy. Choose to lead by partnering with people, connecting with them and fostering willingness, not by imposing.

Key Takeaways

Genuine empathy is one of the most critical leadership traits. It involves open, active listening to genuinely understand and accept people’s emotions, perspectives and experiences. Empathy encompasses three dimensions: understanding emotions and thoughts, and translating this understanding into action.

Why is empathetic leadership important in organisations?

In today’s fast paced, stressful work environments, empathetic leadership positively impacts culture. Empathetic leaders prioritise how employees feel. They show a genuine interest in others. Empathetic leadership fosters inclusivity, prioritises personal connections and builds strong relationships. Highly empathetic managers boost engagement, productivity, innovation, and drive positive organisational change. They do this by creating a safe environment where people can share ideas without fear of judgment.

The results of becoming an empathetic leader are short of miraculous.

Start honing the skill today!

Resources

Join me at my free mini-worksop Empathic Listening Skills for Leaders (the taster to my 12-week programme The Empathic Leader)

Write me or schedule a 30 min call with me to find out more about my training and coaching programmes

Forbes 2023: Why Leading With Empathy Is More Important Than Ever, Alain Hunkins.

Forbes 2021: Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research, Tracy Brower.