How Empathy Builds Leadership Skills

Is your team ready to take on the next big project? Is there a need to create an environment of collaboration and trust in the team?

All these are common things that a leader worries about. As a leader, you want to ensure that the team is productive and motivated. But how do you really achieve this?

With your skills like - communication, problem-solving, delegation, and decision-making. But you need to add one more essential quality to this list, i.e. empathy.

Good leaders must know ways to effectively communicate and connect with their team members, and the best way to do that is through empathy. Here in this blog post, we'll explore how empathy contributes to your leadership skills and ways you can develop and practice it.

Understand The Value of Empathy And Developing It As A Skill

One of your team members might be going through tough times and unable to focus on their work.

Suppose you and your team are heading towards a crucial marketing software launch. But that one disturbed team member is not being able to concentrate can put the entire project in jeopardy.

At this point, having empathy comes in handy for a leader. To be able to understand the emotional state of your team member and then provide solutions or help accordingly can get your team on track.

And like this example, there can be many issues where 'empathy' can help. Take, for instance -

Someone in your team is shy and not being able to put forward their opinions.

One might be feeling overwhelmed with the workload.

Another might be feeling new or left out of the team.

These are some of the problems you might face while leading a team and empathy can be your solution to all these issues.

How Empathy Helps You Become A Better Leader

1. It Makes You More Approachable

Empathy means stepping into the shoes of your team members and experiencing their problems.

If you and your team handle social media marketing, and have to use many tools. But one of your teammates is having trouble using one such marketing software and is constantly lagging behind. And the fellow is embarrassed to ask for help.

At this point, you can use empathy and try to see the situation from his POV. Figure out his situation, approach him, and offer help or training without making it obvious that he isn't performing up to the mark.

Now this act would make him and all your team members view you as a leader who cares.

And they would be able to approach you in the future more easily without any inhibitions.

2. You Gain The Trust Of Your Team

Trust is important for any successful team. And empathy is a great way to earn the trust of your employees.

When your team understands that you're there for them and care about their well-being, they will start to trust you more.

For instance, you're leading a team of content writers. Now the member responsible for writing website content is not able to give his best. As a leader, you know he's going through some problems, but you're also sure that it's not related to his work.

At this point, you can ask him but he's most likely to share if he trusts you.

But to gain their trust you need to be empathetic and you can only show your empathetic side through actions. So be empathetic and gain your team's trust.

3. Increases Your Awareness

Being empathetic means you will be more aware of the moods and emotions of your team.

You also start picking up subtle cues from their body language, tone of voice, etc.

It becomes easier for you to anticipate their responses and adjust the communication style accordingly.

For instance, you have a team member who has just joined your team and is still struggling to adjust to the environment. You know it's taking time for him to adjust and so you are more aware of his state of mind.

This awareness helps you know how to communicate with him and make him feel a part of the team.

4. Improves Your Adaptability

Along with developing awareness, empathy also helps you become more flexible and adaptable.

Suppose your team is trying to come up with some creative marketing strategies for a brand. But even after much experimentation, they're unable to get desired results.

This is when being empathetic and understanding the situation of your team will help you come up with an alternative plan. Listen to their perspectives and the issues they're facing. Then guide and adapt the necessary changes like a change of software, extending the deadlines, or arranging brainstorming sessions.

Empathy stimulates you to think through different perspectives and find solutions that benefit everyone.

Develop Your Leadership Skills

Leading a team is not an easy job, but you can make it better by understanding the perspectives of your team members and showing empathy.

Empathy not only makes you a better leader but also lets you achieve your desired goals. But unfortunately, empathy is something that is not taught in a leadership course.

It's something you have to learn and practice on your own. So take that first step towards becoming a better leader and start showing empathy to reap its benefits.