The Benefits and Outcome of Being an Empathic Leader

Over the course of the last few weeks we have taken a deep look at what empathy is and what it can mean for a leader and their team. We have reviewed ideas for how you can strengthen engagement with your team and improve your skills as an empathetic leader. We discovered that empathy can indeed be learned, it is not only a ‘born with’ skill that only a few leaders have. Employing empathy as a leader increases your emotional intelligence and that will lead to a higher performing team over a longer period of time.As we discovered, empathy must be managed in how it is utilized. There can be a risk in the overuse of empathy. Peter Kozodoy explains this well in his Inc Magazine article This 1 Leadership Trait Can Yield Enormous Results--But Use It Carefully.

But if taken in the right dosage, empathy can help you discover new products, service lines, markets and entirely new strategies. In fact, Carmichael used empathy to open her newest venture, Profitable Practices, after she spent time trying to understand the needs of early career therapists who were struggling with how to build a profitable therapist practice.

When we do maximize the potential from employing empathy the results are rewarding. Research continues to show that strong leaders that have demonstrated empathy and a high levels of emotional intelligence deliver better, more consistent results for the long-term. Turnover is reduced, teams are more engaged, and productivity increases. All are ingredients for a successful business. This is true for young as well as established businesses. New teams or businesses lead by high EQ (emotional intelligence) leaders will grow to become sustained teams and businesses, as Gary V states in his article Empathy: One of The Keys to My Business Success.

Not only is empathy important during the business’ inception and product creation process, but it continues to be essential throughout the lifecycle of the business.

Empathy is a critical component to team development, sustainability, and long-term growth.An early work on the importance of how empathy is a key component of strong emotional intelligence was found in Daniel Goleman’s Harvard Business Review article What Makes a Leader? He has continued to provide insights and data to support the benefits that employing effective levels of empathy as leader brings to individuals and businesses. He theorized that there were five components of Emotional Intelligence. (Table below excerpted from HBR - What Makes a Leader)Throughout the article he reinforces how these five components lead to powerful outcomes. He states in several ways that there are significant benefits and results that come from effectively leading with emotional intelligence and empathy.

But my research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader.

As we have worked through some of the different aspects of empathy in the previous articles you may have wondered how empathy would compare to the importance of increased technical skills or cognitive skills. Goleman addresses that as well in his article.

When I analyzed all this data, I found dramatic results. To be sure, intellect was a driver of outstanding performance. Cognitive skills such as big-picture thinking and long-term vision were particularly important. But when I calculated the ratio of technical skills, IQ, and emotional intelligence as ingredients of excellent performance, emotional intelligence proved to be twice as important as the others for jobs at all levels.

As you continue to grow into new, advancing roles within your business, the importance of further developing your emotional intelligence becomes more critical. Many would believe that technical skill development would be of higher importance as they advance through their career, but Goleman states the opposite:

Moreover, my analysis showed that emotional intelligence played an increasingly important role at the highest levels of the company, where differences in technical skills are of negligible importance.

Finally from Goleman’s research as well as others, the thought of empathy being seen as a potential weakness in leaders is untrue. Empathy as a component of emotional intelligence is a differentiator between top performing leaders.

When I compared star performers with average ones in senior leadership positions, nearly 90% of the difference in their profiles was attributable to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive abilities.

Other researchers have confirmed that emotional intelligence not only distinguishes outstanding leaders but can also be linked to strong performance.

When we began our journey into understanding empathy and seeing how Empathetic Leadership is Effective Leadershipwe learned what empathy is and how it is not ‘soft’ leadership. It goes well beyond just a ‘warm-fuzzy’ feeling and is a skill that can and will make a difference to those who understand, learn, and effectively employ it as part of who they are as a leader.As with almost any situation you will face as a leader, there is not a silver bullet, no foolproof solution that can be pulled from a book or history that will provide an answer with absolute certainty. You can, however, increase your chances by developing your emotional intelligence and empathy specifically to understand your team, your customers, and anyone else around you better. That understanding can bring clarity and insights that will allow you to better react to the specific situation you find yourself in. With time, practice, and commitment to your development of empathizing with others will lead to long-term successes that few ever realize.What other benefits have you seen from becoming a more empathetic leader? Share your thoughts in comments.