Empathy is the ability to understand or feel what other people are experiencing. At times, leaders need to look after their team’s feelings. The best leaders guide employees through challenges and are always on the lookout for a solution. Instead of making things personal when they encounter problems, or assigning blame to individuals, good leaders look for constructive solutions and focus on moving forward.

Empathy is correlated with job performance and is a critical part of emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness.

1. Actually Listen: Most people think they’re pretty good listeners, when they’re not actually listening at all. They may hear the words coming out of someone’s mouth, but that’s about it. Nothing of substance is getting relayed on an emotional level. Empathetic leaders are good listeners. They actually embrace what other people are saying, rather than thinking about what their next statement will be. When you truly open your ears, eyes, and heart to understand what the person is saying, everything falls into place.
2. Watch Body Language: When you’re engaging with someone in a face-to-face manner, watch and study body language. Empathetic leaders know that nonverbal communication is sometimes more important than the verbal portion.
3. Recognise and Validate People’s Perspectives: Recognising other people’s perspectives is essential if you want to empathise with their views. Put your viewpoint to one side and learn about everyone else’s. You can’t solve every problem, or know every answer. When you begin to understand how people feel, it is important to acknowledge it as their reality. You may not agree with what is being said, but you must accept and consider it.
4. Be Authentic: Empathy is not something that can be faked or forced. For this reason, it is a difficult, but effective leadership trait. To be an empathetic leader you must begin to forge strong relationships with your people. Don’t shy away from showing emotion or vulnerability – these are human traits that everyone can relate to. Demonstrating authenticity will make people feel comfortable when communicating with you.

When you learn to understand your people better, you will start to have a workforce that trusts you and feels empowered to help the business achieve its goals.

Being more empathetic is one of the most effective skills a business leader can learn. Empathetic leaders are experts at building and maintaining relationships which is critical for any successful business leader.