Is Empathy the Most Important Leadership Skill?
Is Empathy the Most Important Leadership Skill?
BY TRACY BOWER
Empathy is often considered one of the soft leadership skills. On the contrary, Forbes author Tracy Bower points out, it can drive significant business results and is one of the most important leadership skills. It is also one of the key ingredients to a successful mediation. Bower says: “Great leadership requires a fine mix of all kinds of skills to create the conditions for engagement, happiness and performance, and empathy tops the list of what leaders must get right.”
Empathy has always been a critical skill for leaders, but it is taking on a new level of meaning and priority. Far from a soft approach it can drive significant business results.
You always knew demonstrating empathy is positive for people, but new research demonstrates its importance for everything from innovation to retention. Great leadership requires a fine mix of all kinds of skills to create the conditions for engagement, happiness and performance, and empathy tops the list of what leaders must get right.
The Effects of Stress
The reason empathy is so necessary is that people are experiencing multiple kinds of stress, and data suggests it is affected by the pandemic—and the ways our lives and our work have been turned upside down.
