Empathy skill is understanding others with compassion, empathy, thinking about others’ feelings and trying to understand their feelings. This skill is very important, especially for leaders in this era.
When it comes to work, the position of a boss or an executive is the highest position that everyone dreams of. The saying “Who wants to be a subordinate for the rest of their life?” comes from the truth. It’s not just words in soap operas. But after becoming a boss as desired, it doesn’t end there. There’s still a way forward: can we be a good boss? Will our subordinates love us? Or will we be able to lead our team to success?
“A person who is only good at their job cannot be a leader.”
The position of a leader, in some people’s minds, may mean someone who is good at their job, quick-witted, and can solve specific problems. These qualities are not wrong because a good leader should be good enough to be a leader. However, the formula for being a good leader is not that you can be good alone because the work must be done as a team. The interactions of the people in the team must occur in a good way so that the work can be done well. Therefore, what a leader should have is “empathy”.
Being able to understand other people’s feelings or perspectives through their experiences without judging them is an important skill for being a good leader. However, nowadays people tend to forget this skill and focus on the ability to achieve objectives with the potential of competing in their work, forgetting that the objectives are something that we want to achieve together, not individual success.
“Everyone thinks for themselves and stands by their own ideas.”
People are different from birth. Different fathers, different mothers, growing up in different places, studying in different schools, memories, experiences, or things learned will be different according to what each person has collected along the way. The important thing in working is how much better can we combine those things, adjust them, and create them? Empathy is a skill that helps merge people’s differences to be able to blend together as one. Because if we stand by our own ideas that we are good and correct, we will not adjust to anyone. Therefore, this type of person is probably more suitable to work alone.
“Stress is like an epidemic.”
The reason why empathy is an essential skill for being a good leader is because we have no way of knowing what the people we work with are going through on a daily basis, what their homes are like, what they’re going through on their way to work. Many studies have found the same result: “stress” is like an epidemic. It destroys the stressed person, and it also spreads to those around them.
“Stress is spreading everywhere in the workplace and all over the world.”
According to a Qualtrics study on mental health, 4.2% of people worldwide have experienced poor mental health. More specifically, 67% of those people reported their mental health to be worse due to stress, 57% to anxiety and 54% to burnout. It is also true that 53% of people around us are sad, 50% are feeling irritable, 28% are having trouble concentrating, 20% are taking longer than usual to complete something, 15% have trouble thinking critically and 12% have problems with responsibility.
“Because work stress is not limited to the workplace.”
A study from the University of Illinois found that people often have trouble sleeping when they are stressed at work. After employees receive a harsh or abusive email from their boss, it causes them to feel stressed, see the world in a negative way, and it spreads to their daily lives like an epidemic. People around them are affected by mood swings. It was also found that work stress affects how well a person is a parent.
“Work potential is determined by the boss.”
Research from Georgetown University shows that employees who work with empathetic bosses perform better at work. And employees who experience work stress, whether from a lack of understanding about their work or from rudeness from their boss, have a lower ability to work both individually and as a team, including dealing with customers.
“Compassion contributes to positive outcomes.”
Empathy can have a powerful positive impact on both the individual and the team they work with. A study of 899 employees by Catalyst found that managerial empathy can help employees achieve positive outcomes, such as reducing burnout, struggling with difficult tasks, or taking on challenging tasks to improve their abilities.
“Creation born of compassion”
Research has shown that 61% of employees who have a manager who understands and supports them are more productive and creative, while only 13% of employees who work with a manager who is rude and disrespectful are more productive.
“Because everyone wants to feel valued and respected.”
When asked about white and black women at one company, 57% of white women and 62% of black women said they would not leave a company where their boss respected, valued them, and treated them. Additionally, 76% of employees who received empathy from their boss were more likely to renew their contracts, compared to only 32% of employees at companies where their bosses lacked empathy.
“Compassion is not just a must, it is a universal one.”
50% of employees who work with an empathetic boss say their workplace is inclusive and caters to everyone regardless of position, and that everyone is treated equally. This is compared to 17% of employees who work with an unempathetic boss who says their boss doesn’t care about anyone in any position and that their workplace isn’t convenient at all.
“The bond between a boss and an employee is built on empathy.”
Research from Lund University shows interesting results that the younger we are, the easier it is to appreciate the value of the things around us. But as we grow up, empathy becomes harder to give or receive. Therefore, if a boss has empathy skills with other employees, it will create a good relationship between the boss and the employee. It will definitely be worth it for the giver, whether it’s work potential, creativity, loyalty or friendship in the workplace.
Leaders or supervisors can realize empathy in two ways as follows:
- They may discover truths about employees they work with, such as family difficulties, commutes, life or health problems. These truths can cause managers to ask themselves what they would do in the employee’s shoes, what they would be thinking, and empathy can build.
- Managers do not need to be experts in mental health. They just need to manage with awareness of others. It is enough to try asking or interested in employees about the stories they might want to share. Managers can also support mental health in other ways for employees, such as welfare, finding experts to consult or inviting psychologists to provide advice in various areas, etc.
“People may not remember what you said to them, but they will remember how you made them feel.”
A good boss is not the one who talks about how to take care of his employees. Actions that show that the boss is sympathetic and understands his employees, such as giving encouragement or offering help to every employee, are what a good boss should do. Words may win their hearts for a moment, but actions will make employees give their hearts and be loyal to the boss for a lifetime.
Conclusion
Being a good boss for all employees is not just about being good at work. Because if you are good at your work but not good at managing people, you will not be able to control anyone to do a good job. If you are successful in your work, it is not just the boss who tries to move forward, but we have to go together as a team. Therefore, sympathy for each other is essential. A team that is one and understands each other will be a strong team. Quality work comes from an effective team, and an effective team needs a good boss.
“Being a good leader is about empathy, building relationships, connecting people to the purpose of their work, inspiring and energizing them.”Oprah Winfrey
Reference:
Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research
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