Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Are You An Empathetic Leader?

 

What Is Your Leadership Style?

In today's business environment, successful leadership styles include being an empathetic leader.  To be an empathetic leader is to truly care about people and especially to care about your team.  Whether they are in your office, a branch office or working from home, leaders need to show empathy.

Caring About Others

To care about others is to be engaged with each member of your team.   Ask how they are doing, find out what they are working on, what their successes and what their challenges are.  Ask about their personal life and personal inspirations.   Make them feel and understand how much you care about their role, contributions and their happiness.

Your team needs to see you demonstrate how you put their needs before your own.  Ask for their feedback, their suggestions and earn their trust.   Show them you trust them.   They are, after all, on your team to fulfill a role and you reinforce this by letting them perform at their best with your support.

Trust Your Team

Do you trust them and do they trust you as their leader?  Build a two-way trusted relationship.  Encourage them to grow and challenge them because you believe in them.  Then, get out of the way!  Guide them, nurture them and mentor them when needed.   Watch them take action.  Sometimes you will not like what they do and they will make mistakes which is all part of building strong trusting relationships.

Leaders Go Last

When you lead, your team goes first.  Empower them with the tools, authority and support to plunge ahead.  Yes, this is difficult.  Leaders find it easier to go first.   This may work in the short-term, however, in the long run, leaders who let their team go first are more successful.   Leaders create other leaders.

Be an empathetic leader and watch your team grow.

(Originally published on 03.10.21)

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