Oct 18th, 2021: Empathy in Leadership


I read a recent article stated that "Empathy is The Most Important Leadership Skill". Let us consider this conversation.


According to Greater Good Magazine, the term empathy is used to describe a wide range of experiences. Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense other people's emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.


Being aware of our personal experiences and other peoples' experiences is foundational in developing empathy. It helps us to overcome our bias and ignorance. We embrace understanding by having reflection over our life experiences. We then extend our learning through the experience of other people. Empathy is a key to our appreciation of people's history and background.


Not being afraid of emotion and its interaction requires maturity and self-acceptance. Our languages of emotion are more involved and demanding than many of us are ready for normally. Some people are afraid of dealing with emotions because it demands us to be open to a conversation about our inner being and its fragility. It is a scary place because we feel very vulnerable. Empathy is a courageous choice in a relationship.


Compassion and emotion need to go together at times. We cannot walk with one another without having the freedom to embrace each other's emotional experiences. When a couple tells us that their marriage is passionless, it might just mean that it is emotionless. We cannot separate the longing for intimacy and the need to be open emotionally. Empathy creates a sense of wholeness while welcoming one another.


Leadership is about being able to reach out to others comprehensively. People would welcome listening and understanding ears. No one would reject sincere care and comfort. That is when people feel welcome in our presence.


Ephesians 4: 29

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."


Galatians 6: 2

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

 

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