The Empathic Leader Advantage
Vital Germaine
Empathy gives leaders a one-up. It is the highest level of emotional intelligence, with EQ being one of the most valuable soft skills needed in modern business.
Modern leaders should have a high emotional intelligence quotient (EQ). In laymen’s terms, they should have great awareness and a healthy dose of empathy. The modern leader needs to take time to know and understand their team members and the pulse of the culture, beyond what vision and mission statement claim. The ability to adapt leadership behaviors and strategies based on each individual promotes employee engagement. EQ empowers any leader to leverage their knowledge of said employees before making any type of decisions. Why?
Let’s look at the following scenarios:
SCENARIO 1: You recently noticed one of your colleagues has been falling asleep in the break room. They are not completing tasks as a result. It’s costing you concern and frustration and the company a lot of money. They’ve also been late clocking in during the past ten days. Other colleagues have been covering their co-worker’s responsibilities, but they are complaining. As their boss, what do you do?
A. Ignore them because it’s a tough conversation to have?
B. Fire them because it’s negatively impacting productivity and putting you in a bad position?
C. Have that tough conversation with them to let them know they need to shape up or else… ?
SCENARIO 2: The exact same situation happens as in Scenario 1, however, you find out that she/he/they have been taking care of an ill and elderly parent for the past few months. Will the way you handle this situation be different now that you know more about their private situation?
Be very honest with your answer.
I would, however, imagine that any reasonable level of empathy on your part might inspire you to be more lenient and forgiving of the loss in productivity and focus from that person. Going one step further, I believe a great leader would ask if and how they can help. The options are endless, ranging from adapting their schedule, to working remotely, to offering time off, even paid leave.
I recently heard of a situation where a friend’s boss, who is the business owner, gave an employee a month of paid leave to handle the illness of a loved one. It touched me, making me think that I’d love to have had a leader like that. I’m pretty sure, that employee will be infinitely grateful and probably very loyal because of their boss’ empathetic approach to leadership.
It’s more about the human element than merely numbers.
Vital Germaine
PRESIDENT, ENGAGE Teams 360