Leadership Call to Action

A recent study by Catalyst has revealed the critical importance of empathy as a core leadership skill, especially for senior leaders.  You can read the full report of the research here.  Workers are in crisis with their mental and physical health from the sustained stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent market dynamics.  It turns out that empathy is the critical ingredient for success in leading an organization in the post pandemic world. 

The research identified that there are three aspects of empathy: cognitive (head/thinking), affective (heart/feeling) and behavioral (action/doing).  Let’s marinate in that thought for a minute.  Empathy requires thinking of things from the other person’s point of view, valuing it, and doing something about it.  Past research and countless training courses have called for Head/Heart balance or congruency.  This new study, taken in the context of post pandemic work stress, clearly shows it is not enough for senior leaders to know it or feel it, empathy requires action.

Further data from this study shows the payout that empathic senior leaders already know.

• Innovation: 61% of people with highly empathic senior leaders report often or always being innovative at work compared to only 13% of people with less empathic senior leaders.19

• Work engagement: 76% of people with highly empathic senior leaders report often or always being engaged, compared to only 32% of people with less empathic senior leaders.20

Senior leader empathy has a significant effect on inclusion; 50% of people with highly empathic senior leaders report often or always experiencing inclusion at work, compared to only 17% of people with less empathic senior leadership.47

Senior leader empathy also drives feelings of ‘my life circumstances are respected and valued by my company’ by over 2:1 vs. employees who do not have empathic senior leaders. Importantly, feeling respected and valued is a significant driver for retention of women in the survey. Women who feel their life circumstances are not respected have an intent to leave of 2:1 or as much as 4:1 vs. those who feel like their life circumstances are respected.

This study is full of insights to help leaders understand the root cause of regrettable losses and attrition in their quest for creating a diverse and inclusive work force.  Do you want to have highly engaged, innovative employees who want to work for you and feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves? Then lead with empathy. 

It is up to the leaders to grow and develop their skills to be able to lead the diverse workforce of today.  Leaders cannot expect their employees to teach them how to lead with empathy, the power differential makes it difficult for employees ‘influence up’ when it comes to teaching someone how to respect and value the employee.  Smart employees will continue to vote with their feet.  Foolish leaders will continue to blame the employees (gender, race, generational, individual differences).

Wise leaders will self-reflect and invest in growing their skills in empathy.  Great leaders will make sure their leadership team is carefully curated with a diverse group of leaders who have different lived experiences, giving the senior leader the wise counsel to lead with empathy.

The data is clear. It is a call to action for all leaders.  How will you show up?