We have talked a ton about gratitude, but what is the hype about empathy?
Empathy is the ability to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experiences of others. Empathy is more than just sympathy, which is being able to understand and support others with compassion and with sensitivity. It is the action of understanding and being aware of or sensitive to, and experiencing the feelings, thoughts or emotions of others.
Empathy can be a lot of things and can mean a lot of different things to different people. I feel that empathy can be described with these characteristics:
Today’s leaders need to be more people-focused. This can be tougher now, as we have technology that allows you to work in one state or one country, while your immediate boss works in another state or country, or even just another building. We have the highest levels ever, working from home and usually in their pajamas or comfy clothes, not in their professional attire or even ready for the day. We may not even see the person that oversees our position very often, if even at all. There is a vast need for these skills due to the lack of connection we are having as a society.
Yes, technology is taking us places and is phenomenal. But we do have connection issues, and management gets to play a big part in making this work. We have people that are unbelievably bright and intelligent, yet lack any serious common sense.
There have been studies out there done on major corporations, to see the need and the importance found in empathy. These studies were done to show how successful people are in their job performance, and how empathy related to their job or position. This study was done across multi-cultural areas, and included over 35 countries. Across the board, they wanted to know answers to areas like this:
If you do not think that this is a skill that you get to embrace, think again. If you are not measuring up to these criteria, you will not be easily employable, or stand out as a viable candidate, in the management and leadership world. Empathy has truly been tied to performance, and the simple practice of empathy was found to play a significant role.
I bring all of this up for you to see the importance and the value of both characteristics, and the role they play in our workforce. You do not have to chase this to be able to implement it. You get to recognize it for what it is and how it can best serve you. Allow the Universe to provide abundantly for you! You get to be aware of what is out there, and how you can be more connected, how you can take better action, and how you can up level your skill-set and your life by improving your empathy and your gratitude.
The other significant role we are seeing with leaders that lead with empathy is the feeling of community in the workplace. Sure, gratitude is definitely a big part too, but people want to feel like they are understood and appreciated. And the big one is that people need to belong!
We all want to belong to something bigger. We have a natural need for connection, and we thrive when we are supported and understood. It makes total sense that having a community feeling at our workplace would make us more committed to the 
success of the company as a whole. We are more willing to give it extra effort to hit a deadline, or push a little harder to put out a new product. Having community will create employee retention, employee engagement, and will raise the morale as a whole.
Embrace this if you are not already. Up-level where you are at, if you already do embrace it. We can all do better. We can all do more and can all BE more.
Empathy has become huge in our workplace, as we have such diversity in our colleagues and in our businesses. Embrace Empathy with your struggling colleagues, and support them so as a team and business, you meet your deadlines, you finish your projects, and your work gets done well. Think about it—when we step up and assist someone going through a tough time, it builds trust and connection. If we throw them under the bus when they are struggling, they will just become the weak link in the chain—and as we know, that one weak link can weaken the entire chain. We have all heard it before—you are only as strong as your weakest link.
If you are the leader over the entire group, you will be seen differently if you are not supportive and understanding. It will drive a wedge in how much respect they have for you, and how much you deserve, and the entire group may lose trust in you. If you are a leader over a specific group or project, when you show up with empathy and understanding, this will allow for your supervisor or manager—even your boss—to see you as a leader. You will be magnifying those skills that they desire in those that they promote into higher responsibility positions. It only works in your favor—and it is the right thing to do. We will all face different times of challenge, and we all have times when we deserve the support and cooperation of a community and team we can count on. As the leader, it is also your responsibility to bring out the best in the people on your team—and how better to lead, than through example. Having Empathy is different than Demonstrating Empathy. Let’s all demonstrate the best Empathy possible!