On Empathy

We were all taught to walk a mile in other person's shoes before judging them. While we all strive for fancier shoes let's take a stroll in the metaphoric shoes of our colleagues.

“I understand where you are coming from” “I know how you feel”“You look swamped. Is there something I can do to help?”Empathy (cognitive, emotional, or compassionate), is the number one trait of an inspirational leader:

📌 It helps us feel the consumer who loves or hates their own product, enabling us to make the right product decisions to win hearts and minds

📌 It helps us understand the business leanings of our shareholders and jointly create a winning strategy

📌 It helps us know why we failed, when we failed, and why we succeeded when we succeeded

📌 It helps us understand and minimize pains and maximize victories of our teams. We are close to the pulse of the organization, are willing to change what is not working, say things that matter, and do things that inspire

📌 We are seen as a human and can create a culture that fosters empathy, communication, collaboration, performance and accountability 

📌 By lending a helping hand we foster trust, remove barriers, and multiply business outcomesLeaders who make tough decisions and large-scale transformations guided by empathy, are more successful. Difficult decisions are better informed, better communicated, better accepted, and better executed if guided by empathy