Empathy is a construct that is fundamental to leadership. Many leadership theories suggest that the ability to have and display empathy is an integral part of leadership. Demonstrating empathy in the workplace is a crucial part of emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness.
Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s experience, perspective, and feelings. It is commonly described as the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes. However, we cannot confuse empathy with making people happy or being nice.
The ability to be compassionate and connect with others is critical to our lives, both personally and professionally. To understand if empathy influences a manager’s job performance, the Centre for Creative Leadership analyzed data from 6,731 managers from 38 countries. Key findings of the study are:
1. Empathy is positively related to job performance.
2. Empathy is more important to job performance in some cultures than in others.
If someone in a leadership or managerial role is pathologically self-focused, typical motivations for changing such behaviours are often ineffective. If a person does not care, or worse, is incapable of caring, they will continue to act in whatever way makes them feel good.
Low-empathy leaders have a selfish, boorish me-orientation and an inability to imagine the perspective of others. Such leaders are very sensitive and reactive. Also, they are usually highly intelligent, often tragically flawed by rigidity. Highly sensitive, painfully one-sided, and always looking to “win.”
Low-empathy leaders or individuals are challenging to manage. They cannot imagine the perspective of others, they are inconsiderate and irrational, and they want to win at all costs; such a leader is in the dangerous position of feeling entitled to do anything, say anything, and not care.
To handle this behaviour, a low-empathy individual in leadership must be tricked into accepting influence by an organized, sophisticated individual or group of individuals who play to their ego needs through undue appreciation, showmanship, and eye service while possessing enough managerial strength and influence to take responsible action in their stead. This individual should never be empowered to act alone.
It is pertinent to note that not all low-empathy leaders are monsters. They can be smart, pragmatic people. Any individual can learn to respect society’s mores. Low-empathy leaders or managers may, however, leave you guessing and uncertain. It would be best if you remained professional in your conduct by demonstrating a sound work ethic.
When other people’s behaviour does not support our identity, our instinct is to believe that they are either wrong, crazy, or both. Our judgmental axe is always ready to fall. Nevertheless, we must remember, it is not about us. It is rarely about us. If we knew just how infrequently other people’s behaviours ever had anything to do with us, we would be astonished. Because when a colleague or manager sends out an email that puts us in a bad light before others, odds are, it is not a personal attack. To immediately assume so is a form of narcissism.
Thus, before we jump to judgment and condemn people, we should always assume people are fighting a battle that we know nothing about. We should always appreciate that most of them are doing the best they can with the information they know to be true for them. Moreover, we should see people as they are, not as our filters would judge them.
Then we must ask ourselves some questions. How is it possible that this person could think or behave in this way, and under what circumstances would it make perfect sense to do so?
These questions help deepen our empathy, compassion, and understanding of the other person’s experience. Because it is rooted in curiosity, it disrupts our point of view. Moreover, it presumes that there might be something outside of our own experience that we do not know yet.
Working with a low-empathy leader is an unlucky circumstance that, statistically, can occur to any of us. It would be best to be more concerned about this and other personality disorders that may impact the workplace or other spheres. We must understand that low-empathy leaders provoke others into emotional reactivity to control them, which is why maintaining one’s sense of calm is so important in their midst.
Again, understanding the psychological profile of a low-empathy leader is not just valuable. It is also some sort of peace of mind to those who have experienced stressful situations caused by these personalities. You must know and master the personality profile of such leaders, especially their weaknesses and strengths.
The truth is that the low-empathy leaders or managers needs admiration from others to confirm themselves in that fabrication. They also need control and power so that no one could knock down the exquisite facade that they have built of themselves. Shower them with great admiration only for their strengths, but you must never lose your sense of identity or self-esteem.
Similarly, it would help if you remembered that how we feel colours our perception of what we see going on around us. Consequently, it is important to understand those feelings to respond and manage them accordingly, especially when dealing with a low-empathy leader. It is also important that we remind ourselves that the story we tell in our minds is different from the story playing in the minds of others. It is only through listening intently to others that we can begin to understand the strategy to adopt per time when dealing with a low-empathy leader.
