Empathy: The Most Important Trait In Leadership And Life

Why is empathy important in leadership? If a particular leader is empathetic towards the team members, that means he/she has the ability to get to the depth of any situation as well as understand the struggles and problems of every employee. 

Empathy becomes an important trait for leaders because it helps to develop a good relationship between employees and the leader so that a safe space is created where the people can work comfortably. In addition, empathy helps bring positivity in the office, and thus every project they venture into, whether it is a success or a failure, nothing can break the team apart. 

Being a leader means to lead. We have been taught this from a very young age. But, leading does not mean leaving all the hard-working employees behind and overshadowing them while receiving compliments. Instead, leading means sharing happiness and sadness. Leading means being together during the process and being together while receiving recognition too.

This article will give you an in-depth knowledge of how empathy is related to leadership and the importance of empathy in leadership and life. 

How To Become An Empathetic Leader?

The first question that would arise in your mind is how would you become an empathetic leader. However, before you delve deeper into this article, you need to understand what empathy is and how it is important in life. 

We human beings are social beings, and we can only survive when dependent on one another. Empathy is a part of being human. It is a basic trait where you understand how others feel to respond to that situation accordingly. Not just understanding, but being considerate of their feelings. The empathetic people are very sociable, approachable and they are liked by everyone. 

A leader should be approachable and sociable as well. They should know how to communicate effectively and assertively so that they show a welcoming nature and get respected too. If you become way too empathetic, then people might use you to their advantage. Thus, active listening and assertive communication help to prevent such a situation from arising.  

Both problems solving and listening abilities are important for a leader, and these traits come naturally if you are empathetic. This is why the people who are born empathetic make amazing and famous leaders. 

Ways In Which Empathy Makes You The Best Leader:

Now that you have a basic understanding of empathetic leaders, here are ways in which empathy can make a person the best leader:

  1. Empathy creates a bond between two people:

When two people are empathetic towards one another, they start to care for each other. You connect with that person on a deeper level and understand their perspective towards life, even if their opinions differ from yours. When a leader and all of the team members are empathetic towards one another, no force on this earth can break them.

  1. It makes you insightful:

When a conflict arises, every person has a different notion running through their minds. Only after listening to everyone else’s point of view can you truly infer what the actual problem was. If you listen to what others have to say with your full concentration, you gain insights that help to solve the problem quickly.

  1. It teaches to be actively present:

There is a difference between being simply present in a situation and being actually present in a conversation. You can be present and still not understand anything about the situation. However, when you are actually present in a conversation, you listen and observe everything with 100% concentration. 

  1. Helps you become more sociable:

When you are empathetic as a leader, people around you will automatically come to you with their problems without any hesitation. They will always speak with lots of respect and admiration. 

How To Identify If You Are Not Empathetic?

Now that you have learned a lot about empathy and leadership, here are ways in which you can test for yourself if you are truly empathetic or not:

  • You get easily distracted while others are speaking. People around you will notice when you are distracted, and it will bring down your image. 
  • You get irritated and agitated very easily.
  • You find it difficult to hide your feelings and emotions.
  • You have anger issues.
  • You are less sociable and do not appreciate big gatherings. 

On A Concluding Note:

While empathy is a very important trait, always be careful if you are too kind and considerate towards others. People will always take advantage of it and will draw your energy, and it will only make you tired. Always draw a line in between becoming warm and welcoming and friendly. Maintain professionalism while being empathetic.