Synopsis
Anurag Tiruwa and Shuchi Dikshit present the importance of empathy in leadership. Through real world examples such as Arne Sorenson (EFO of Marriott International), Jacinda Ardern (Former Prime Minister of New Zealand), and Indra Nooyi (Former CO of PepsiCo), they show how leadership founded in empathy can positively impact people, teams, and organizations.
They identified three types of empathy:
- Cognitive Empathy
- Emotional Empathy
- Compassionate Empathy
However, they also cautioned that there are challenges in practicing empathy. First, leaders struggle balancing empathy and making hard decisions. Second, leaders can burnout because of the emotional involvement. Third, it must be genuine and not performative. Finally, ensuring the entire organization is empathetic and or leaders with empathy can be difficult to maintain.
Ultimately, Anurag Tiruwa and Shuchi Dikshit stated “Empathy is no longer secondary or optional trait in leadership; it is a fundamental driver of organizational success.”
Just My Thoughts
As I continue to research Empathetic Leadership, I’ve discovered that while often received well, it can also have some negative impacts as Tiruwa and Dikshit showed in this article. However, seeing how these formative leaders were able to lead through empathy successfully it is easy to argue that the benefits outweigh the cost.
As leaders we must create relationships built on trust and understanding. With empathy as a foundation, you demonstrate cognitive, emotional, and compassionate empathy that your employees are looking for from you.
I highly recommend you read this article. The examples they provide not only help us understand how empathy works but also see this in real life scenarios.
Photo by Parradee on Adobe Stock.