We all want to belong to something bigger. We have a natural need for connection, and we thrive when we are supported and understood. Makes total sense that having a community feeling at our workplace would make us more committed to the success of the company. 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. We need this and our people want this.
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 that 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 already, 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 build a wedge into 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! Watch the video to see “How Empathy will Enhance Your Leadership.”