Empathy: A Key Skill for Effective Leadership

What makes leaders afraid? People usually become leaders because they enjoy taking control of things. It’s this very need to control that often blocks a leader from learning how to show empathy. “If I show empathy to this employee, they’ll think I’m agreeing with them,” is often the retort I hear. One CEO stated that he “didn’t want to open ‘Pandora’s box’ and have employees waste time venting.” In my experience coaching executives, their lack of empathy usually surfaces as an issue when they participate in a 360 input survey. I usually conduct a 360 at the beginning of a coaching assignment and the one I frequently use assesses dimensions of emotional intelligence, one of which is empathy. A recent study by talent acquisition firm Lee Hecht Harrison of over 600 employees supports lack of empathy as a problem in the workplace. Fifty eight percent of managers were found to fail at displaying the right level of understanding and empathy toward their direct reports.
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