By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
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Abstract: This article discusses how compassionate, empathetic leadership can positively transform organizational culture and performance. The article explores how empathetic leadership, defined as the ability to understand others' perspectives and care about their well-being, creates an engaged workforce and values-aligned environment where people thrive. Sections provide background on empathetic leadership principles and skills, then expound on how empathy cultivates engagement, alignment, psychological safety, and the development of future leaders through mentoring in perspective-taking. Research supporting these claims is cited. In conclusion, the article argues that empathy from the C-suite down is integral to maximizing human potential and organizational success, and that cultivating these abilities must be a strategic priority for any firm aiming to be a top employer.
As a consultant with two decades of experience assisting organizations through culture change initiatives, I've seen firsthand how compassionate leadership can positively transform an organization. When leaders lead with empathy, listening to understand others' perspectives and supporting their well-being, it cultivates an engaged and innovative culture where people want to do their best work.
Today we will explore how empathetic leadership lays the groundwork for a high-performing, values-driven culture.
Understanding Empathetic Leadership
Let's start by defining what I mean by "empathetic leadership." Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others (Baker, 2018). Empathetic leaders practice two core skills - perspective-taking and compassion. Perspective-taking involves actively trying to understand others' viewpoints without judgment, even if you don't agree. Compassion refers to caring about employees' well-being and suffering, with a drive to improve their situation (Wu et al., 2020).
Empathetic leaders listen to understand, not just to reply. They observe nonverbal cues and ask thoughtful follow-up questions to grasp how policies and decisions impact different people. They recognize that one size rarely fits all when it comes to people's needs. Most importantly, empathetic leaders lead with heart - their top priority is the human experience, not just metrics or the bottom line.
Empathy Breeds Engagement
When leaders empathize, people feel seen, heard and valued as human beings rather than cogs in the machine. As a result, they're more likely to care about their work and the organization's success.
Research substantiates this link between empathetic leadership and engagement. According to surveys of over 15,000 employees, leadership empathy correlated with higher rates of teamwork, pride in work, and motivation to do one's best (Goleman et al., 2002). Other findings suggest empathy enhances meaningfulness, which drives engagement - if people feel their leader understands their experience, their work seems more meaningful (Spreitzer et al., 2005).
From a practical standpoint, I've watched this play out time and again in organizations. Leaders who take the time to empathize, ask about people's lives, and understand their perspectives beyond job tasks tend to have more engaged teams. People feel an intrinsic motivation to perform well when they feel truly cared for.
Heading With Empathy Sets Values Alignment
When leaders lead empathetically and communicate the organization's values through their behavior, people understand what's truly expected and rewarded. This cultivates values alignment.
Research indicates values alignment is critical for high performance as well as attracting and retaining top talent (Gravina & Seda, 2019). Yet many companies struggle with messaging values versus modeling them. Empathetic leaders close this gap, showing through their thoughtful, interpersonally intelligent leadership how the shared values come to life in day-to-day operations.
In my experience, strong values alignment arises when leaders empathize with employees to understand which espoused values resonate, which fall short, and why. Rather than assuming they know best, empathetic leaders collaborate to refine values in an authentically inclusive manner. People then internalize the aims as truly representative and strive to uphold them.
Fostering Safety Through Compassion
Empathetic leadership breeds psychological safety - people's confidence to take risks and be vulnerable without fear of negative consequences (Edmondson, 1999). This enables innovation and peak performance.
Compassion is key to safety. When leaders demonstrate care for people's well-being through empathy, others feel secure bringing their whole selves to work. Conversely, research links a lack of care and understanding from leaders to stress, anxiety, and disengagement (Rowold et al., 2014).
From facilitating strategy offsites, I've found the compassions bosses create the ideal environment for exploring bold ideas. People share freely, learn from mistakes without reprisal, and support one another's growth. Empathetic leaders foster this cooperative spirit, where learning and experimenting take priority over looking perfect.
Developing Future Leaders With Empathy
Sustainable change requires developing new generations of empathetic leaders. When senior leaders model empathetic skills, the next-up leaders replicate this approach as they gain responsibilities.
One company I partnered with focused on cultivating empathy in high-potential emerging leaders. Senior executives mentored them using perspective-taking exercises, giving candid feedback on strengths and areas for improving empathy. These protégés then brought their newfound skills to lead projects, exemplifying care, listening and understanding for their direct reports.
Follow-up evaluations found these mentees developed into highly engaged, self-aware leaders appreciated by their teams. They attributed their success to learning empathetic approaches from top-down role modeling early in their careers. This demonstrated how investing in empathy at all levels strengthens an organization for the long haul.
Conclusion: An Empathetic Future
To maximize performance and humanity in today's volatile world, businesses need leaders who prioritize empathy, compassion and caring for people above all else. As this essay outlines based on research and experience, empathetic leadership is integral for engagement, values alignment, innovation and developing new generations of leaders. It establishes the foundation for a thriving, future-focused culture.
While not all leaders naturally embody empathy, it is a skill that can be developed with intentional practice and feedback from colleagues. I encourage any organization striving for excellence and well-being to examine how empathy is modeled from the C-suite down and look for opportunities to strengthen perspective-taking, active listening and showing compassion as core leadership competencies.
The companies that emerge as top employers where people want to build their careers will be those guided empathetically. At the core of any thriving culture is humanity - and empathetic leadership is how humanity thrives.
References
Baker, J. P. (2018). Everyday empathy: How training leaders to understand their employees can transform companies and careers. Harvard Business Review, 96(2), 124–128. https://hbr.org/2018/03/everyday-empathy
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Gravina, N. E., & Seda, M. (2019). Leader-follower value congruence: An intersubjective approach and research agenda. Journal of Management Inquiry, 28(2), 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492617750374
Rowold, J., Borgmann, L., & Bormann, K. (2014). Which leadership constructs are important for predicting job satisfaction, affective commitment, and perceived job performance in profit versus nonprofit organizations? Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 25(2), 147–164. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21116
Spreitzer, G. M., Sutcliffe, K., Dutton, J., Sonenshein, S., & Grant, A. M. (2005). A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organization Science, 16(5), 537–549. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0153
Wu, P., Sun, I. Y., & Bond, M. H. (2020). Thriving in workplace relationships: Roles of empathic concern, perspective taking, and compassionate love. Journal of Management, 46(2), 188-214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318793254
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Building the Compassionate Culture: How Empathetic Leadership Breeds Engagement and Performance. Human Capital Leadership Review, 12(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.12.3.10
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