Empathic Leadership

In today’s age, in which teamwork, collaboration and interdependence are so necessary, the importance of having a good leader is evident . But it does not work with any type of leader: companies demand that the positions of more responsibility be filled by people capable of putting into practice a type of leadership, empathic leadership.

But how exactly is empathic leadership different from other types of leadership? Can this way of leading be developed or is it something that you are born with? In today’s article we will answer these and other questions.

Empathic leadership, what does it consist of?

Leadership is the ability to manage a group of people or an organization, in such a way that a clear vision of the objectives to be met is established, it is possible to motivate the rest of the team members so that they want to work on the common goal and resolve internal conflicts between different members of the group.

However, although all leaders have these characteristics in common, there are different types of leadership. Some of them involve acting putting personal gain ahead of what the group needs, using manipulative tactics, or acting arrogant and narcissistic.

On the contrary, a person who practices empathic leadership  will be able to put himself in the shoes of the rest of the members of his team. In addition to this, he will also try to understand the needs of the market and its consumers, in such a way that he will learn to give each customer what he needs.

On the other hand, a person who practices empathic leadership will be able to communicate effectively to the rest of his team what he has to do, in such a way that he will be  able to awaken in them the desire to work, feeling the goals they achieve as their own.

How to develop empathetic leadership?

According to the research carried out on this way of leading a team, a person who wishes to adopt an empathic leadership style must develop mainly five skills : empathy, enthusiasm, warmth, serenity, and the ability to set limits. Let’s see each one of them.

1- Empathy

Obviously, a person who wants to become an empathic leader must be able to put himself in the shoes of others. But empathy is not simply about understanding on a rational level what the other is thinking: someone who wants to develop their empathic leadership skills will have to understand how an action is going to affect each of their team members.

For many people, this ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes “will not come as standard.” However,  the latest research shows that it is perfectly possible to develop empathy for most people.

2- Enthusiasm

A good empathic leader is capable of transmitting his desire to create and produce to the rest of the team. This is because the way you lead is not about forcing others to complete their tasks, but about your ability to encourage and motivate them to do so.

To achieve this, a person with empathic leadership skills is capable of putting energy and passion into what he or she has, proposes and does, in such a way that he  serves as an example for his colleagues.

3- Warmth

As he is able to put himself in the shoes of the rest of the members of his team, he is also able to provide solutions from close quarters, being sensitive, while being fair, with individual circumstances.

This does not mean that they go to work to make friends, but it does mean that they follow the maxim that a cordial relationship -at least- helps a good working relationship, and therefore, the team. Finally, this closeness also places them in a privileged place to reinforce those individual attitudes that most interest the group.

4- Serenity

The empathic leader must be able to remain calm in complicated, emotional or stressful situations. To be able to effectively lead your team, you must set  an example for them. Therefore, if you let your impulses rule, you will soon lose the respect of your employees.

5- Ability to set limits

The last skill that a person who wants to develop this ability has to master is to set personal and professional limits. Despite being able to understand the other members of his team, a good empathic leader must know how to impose himself and keep distance when necessary.

Otherwise, you  will stop being a leader to become one of the group.  Therefore, a person who wants to develop empathic leadership will benefit from mastering communication skills, such as assertiveness.