The Seven Essential Abilities of an Empathetic Leader

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February 3, 2014
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Great leaders take a personal interest in the employees they manage. They apply the appropriate and balanced amount of Empathy, one of the Six Attraction Powers.

Empathetic leaders invest themselves mentally and emotionally in the well-being of their employees. This behavior fosters trust, which facilitates the highest possible level of collaboration and teamwork. Trust also encourages better working relationships, makes work easier, creates a safe environment for achievement, and is more satisfying for all concerned.
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Like every other Attraction Power, too much or too little Empathy can throw an organization into disarray. To help flesh out the definition, dimensions, and appropriate use of Empathy as an Attraction Power, consider the abilities Empathy encompasses in a great leader.

Empathy is the ability to:

1. Read your own emotions and emotional states. To be aware of and to recognize your own views, expectations, perspectives, and needs as your own.

2. Read the emotions and emotional states of others. To understand, appreciate, and be able to easily relate to others. To appreciate their expectations, perspectives, and needs, whether explicitly communicated or not. To seek the source of their views and feelings.

3. Time and situate your communication according to the needs of others. To know when and when not to act.

4. Frame your communication in line with leadership objectives such as the need to motivate, inspire, or to redirect behavior in accordance with the other person’s emotional condition.

5. Determine how your message will received and to express yourself in order to evoke the response required.

6. Advocate your positions and interests without invalidating the positions and interests of others.

7. Help determine how to reach solutions that appeal to all parties, so that all leave the conversation with an engaged and positive attitude.

Doesn’t sound easy, I know. That’s why I invite you to learn more and practice expressing Empathy with other leaders at either a CoachQuest Leader-as-Coach Workshop or a Leadership Attraction Powers Workshop. Before signing up for either, feel free to take a Mini Leadership Attraction Profile to get a quick measure of your Empathy Attraction Power.

Or get in touch with me at helanie@align4profit.com of 972-608-0400 to talk about Empathy or any other leadership development issues you may have.

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Helanie Scott
Helanie Scott
Helanie (pronounced yeh-LAH-nee) Scott, CEO and founder of Align4Profit in Dallas, Texas, has driven stunning leadership and cultural transformations for an impressive list of organizations. She has mastered the ability to connect with her audiences in the boardroom, classroom, on stage, or in one-on-one coaching sessions. Helanie’s Align4Profit clients rave at the way her engaging programs freshen outdated mindsets and deliver results-oriented, aligned action.