Today, I'd like to talk about empathy
Gary Vaynerchuk [entrepreneur] says that the most important factor that contributed to his business success is:
EMPATHY!
In psychological terms, empathy refers to the ability to understand or feel what people are experiencing from within their own frame of reference, meaning the ability to put oneself in another's shoes.
You shouldn't confuse empathy with sympathy, which is feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else. Rather, empathy is about creating an environment in which other people feel heard and welcomed.
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Does empathy really matter in the workplace?
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An employee survey titled the State of Workplace Empathy reveals that 82% of employees would resign to work for an organization that promotes empathy.
As part of World Economic Forum research, Coursera emphasized the importance of soft skills. Mindfulness, gratitude, listening and kindness were among the top 10 focus areas that employees were looking to enhance in 2020, replacing artificial neural networks, cloud computing, and general statistics that were in focus in 2019.
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Yet, we have to admit it -- managers are caught in a Performance-Empathy Dilemma, conflicted between performance demands from above and empathy demands below.
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Is there a way to promote business success while still improving empathy?
The following three suggestions may help:
1. Communication.
Recent research presented at the American Sociological Association found that employee networks shrank significantly over the last two years, and that in some companies, employees have never met each other in person.
It's no secret that people are looking for personal communication, which they can get via face-to-face or online meetings. Having managers communicate the decision-making process and future actions will give employees a sense of security and encourage them to deliver their best.
2. Listening.
Empathic listening is a structured listening and questioning technique that helps to develop and enhance relationships.
Having learned to listen, ask questions, and, most importantly, clearly communicate the results of a conversation, managers are able to reach their business goals.
3. Inspire others.
As there are almost no technological barriers today, people have the ability to enhance and inspire other people by presenting their own perspective and by promoting others to present their own ideas and thoughts.
People don't want to be commanded. They want to be led. They want to feel trusted and inspired.
Empathy is a powerful tool for connecting people with business, to link high-level goals with practical outcomes.
Managers today recognize the importance of putting more effort into developing soft skills, now also known as POWER SKILLS, or as Gary Vee calls them, the ALPHA SKILLS.
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