Last week I had the distinct pleasure of co-hosting the weekly #LeadFromWithin tweetchat with Lolly Daskal. The subject of my chat was “The Role of Empathy in Leadership” and I have to say I was gratified by both the level of participation and depth of contributions/insights which arose during the discussion (click here to download a PDF copy of the chat transcript).

Although I’ve written previously about the importance of empathy in leadership, I want to use last week’s talk as an opportunity to delve into this issue more, sharing some of the points I provided during the talk, as well as some of the insights proffered by the various participants. Here are the ten questions I asked participants as we discussed the role empathy plays in leadership.

1. What does empathy mean?

“Empathy means I demonstrate concern for & listen to reach understanding of others ideas & feelings.” – @scedmonds

In order to appreciate the role empathy plays in leadership, we first need to have a clear understanding of what empathy means. Most times, we tend to confuse empathy with sympathy; that to be empathetic means agreeing or relating to the feelings another person has regarding a given situation or individual.

However, what empathy really means is being able to understand the needs of others. It means that you’re aware of their feelings and how it impacts their perception. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with how they see things; rather, being empathetic means that you’re willing and able to appreciate what the other person is going through.

2. Why does it matter for us to understand the needs of others?

“By understanding others we can develop closer relationships.” – @TerriKlass

At first glance, this might seem a tad altruistic, but there are tangible benefits that are derived from Click here to continue reading »”Empathy in Leadership – 10 Reasons Why It Matters”

The following is a guest post by author and speaker Steven Smith. Voted as one of the top 100 business thought-leaders in the United States, Steve’s work has been adopted by several universities to help students gain a better understanding of how the business world really operates. His ideas and writings have lead him to work with a number of organizations including American Express, Microsoft, Disney, State Farm, and Hard Rock Cafe.

He’s the co-author of the book “egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability)” and he’s currently at work on his third book called “Us: Why we matters more than me and how to bridge the gaps between us”. Next Monday, he will be presenting a workshop at G5 Leadership called “Listen Up, Speak Up – How to tackle tough topics”, where he’ll discuss, among other things, the challenges in giving and receiving feedback, which is the subject of his guest piece here on my blog. Steve will also be giving an interpersonal communication workshop on the G5 Leadership website in August called “Pure Confidence”.

Thanks to the team at G5 Leadership, I will be giving away a number of FREE one-year memberships to G5 Leadership so you can attend these upcoming workshops by Steve as well as those given by other leadership speakers. To learn more about this contest I’m holding, check out my special message at the end of Steve’s post.

We’ve all been in the meeting where almost everything is said, except what needs to be spoken most, and everyone is painfully aware of the impact the unspoken words will have.

When the chance to speak up is there, it slips by, untaken, because of emotions like fear, anxiety, frustration, anger and distrust. We stare in the distance, wait for someone else, look away or hope what needs to be said disappears, and our anxiety with it.

Intellectually we’re committed to saying what’s on our mind, but emotionally we get intimidated or distracted long enough that the moment passes, and with it the truth that could help the most.

After the meeting we walk to the water cooler, where we take on the elephant that was in the room, directly. Why is it that the water cooler (real or hypothetical) seems to be the place where people are most honest? Click here to continue reading »”Bringing Water-Cooler Honesty to the Act of Giving and Receiving Feedback”

The following is a guest post by Kevin Eikenberry. Kevin is an author, speaker, trainer, consultant, and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group.  His latest book, ” From Bud to Boss – Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership“, was co-authored with Guy Harris and will be available online and in bookstores starting tomorrow.  Recently, his team created the Bud to Boss Community, a free online resource to help people who are new to the role of leadership.

President Mubarak has been the President of Egypt for 30 years. He’s an experienced leader, so you would think he would have known better. It seems he wasn’t listening to what was really happening in his country. He should have known about the issues. By all reports the concerns of the people aren’t new. The experiences of his neighbors in Tunisia should have been a sign. But, apparently not.

Because his inactivity, his lack of awareness and perhaps hubris, he was driven out last Friday from his role as the leader of his country.

You don’t lead a country and the consequences of your actions (or inactions) as a leader likely won’t be as dire or as widespread. But the lesson is right there in front of you. Are you paying attention?

In part, President Mubarak wasn’t paying attention. It is easy to do. It is easy to sit in our offices, thinking about the seemingly urgent matters, pondering our next big project, and thinking big things. When we do these things we may not be focusing on what is happening with our team, department, or organization.

Or maybe we focus on our organization too much – and we don’t see the trends, shifts, new technologies or other outside factors that will be impacting our businesses. What is your Tunisia?

The solution is simple. Click here to continue reading »”Are You Paying Attention?”

As we slowly approach the end of another year, there is once again a discernible feeling of anticipation for what the upcoming year will bring. In many ways, this is quite natural and expected since, like a present wrapped in shiny paper, the start of a new year often stirs a sense of optimism that better times and new opportunities for recovery, growth and development await us just around the corner.

While leaders use the end of the year to focus on developing plans for what they need to achieve in the new year, it’s also important that they not lose sight of the lessons learned over the course of the previous one. Indeed, the successes and failures incurred over the past twelve months can provide a wealth of insights that can help leaders chart a clearer path towards their organization’s goals, provided that they take the time to reflect and review on what came out of these past outcomes.

With this in mind, here are ten questions leaders can ask to reflect and assess both their own performance and that of their employees, and how they can ensure that their team remains focused and driven toward reaching their shared goals: Click here to continue reading »”10 Questions to Help Leaders Prepare for the New Year”