Executive Coaching for Empathetic Leaders – Practice Tough Empathy

Practice Tough Empathy

Are you working in an organization where leaders are emotionally and socially intelligent? Are the leaders in your organization empathetic with the people they lead?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask oneself is “Am I demonstrating that I care about my people especially in difficult times?” Inspiring leaders consistently demonstrate that they have the best interest of their people and business at heart.

Are you a leader who practices tough empathy?  Are you able to create a high performance workplace by creating a workplace climate where employees are fully engaged and leaders inspire a fired-up workforce?

Empathy can be defined as the ability to see things from the other person’s point of view, and to read other people. Other definitions include the concept of identifying with the other person or their situation. This implies more than a cognitive understanding, more than just remembering a similar situation that you may have gone through yourself. Empathy means that you can recall some of those same feelings based on your own memories. There is a sharing and identifying with emotional states.

What does this have to do with running a business, managing a company and dealing with bottom-line performance issues? Obviously, if managers were to take the time to listen with empathy at everything that was said, nothing would get done. Furthermore, one cannot fall prey to being swept up into every person’s story.

Real leaders don’t need an interpersonal-skills training program to convince people they care. They already do. Successful leaders empathize fiercely with the people they lead and care intensely about the work.

Tough empathy means giving people what they need, which isn’t always what they want. It balances respect for the individual and the task at hand. Attending to both isn’t easy, particularly when times are challenging.

Caring leaders must give selflessly to the people around them and learn when to pull back. When this is necessary, it’s tough to be tough.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an and inspiring leader who displays the qualities authentic leadership. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.