In the past, and even in many cases today, the thinking has been that leaders must be decisive, unwavering, and direct. They hold all the cards, and their only job is to point employees in the right direction. But in reality, that is not leadership per se; it is just management. And while it may seem effective from the outside looking in, research has proven that such leaders are quite ineffective compared to leaders who approach their employees with empathy. In the latter case, these leaders prove to be influential beyond just management. Why is that?
The Role of Empathy in Organisational Trust
Let us think of organisations as airplanes. These machines are very powerful, and we can trust them to provide reliable transport services day in and day out. However, as solid as they are, these machines require services such as maintenance, repairs, and overhauls from reputable organisations like Magnetic MRO. Otherwise, the minor wear and tears can develop into structural issues that can not only affect the operational efficiency of the aircraft but also put lives at risk. So, by liaising with organisations like magneticmro.com aircraft engineering services, airlines ensure that their operations run smoothly.
Organisations operate the same way, and employees are the very infrastructure that keeps them going. After all, they are in charge of key activities such as sales, marketing, research, and product development. And if they do not get the support they need, it affects their ability to perform optimally, which hurts organisational performance.
But where does empathy fall in all this?
- It helps employees feel safe. In organisations where leaders do not seek to understand their employees, it is quite natural for those employees to have high levels of stress because they feel ignored or misunderstood by the leadership. As such, when a leader takes the time to understand their employees, they communicate that they are a safe space, and this helps employees feel more comfortable within the organisation.
- It shows that the leaders see employees as people. In pursuit of sales and profits, some leaders start to view employees as units of production, to the point that they treat them as replaceable. As you would expect, this does not bode well with employees, as they do not feel valued within the organisation. Being empathetic as a leader signals that you see people as individuals and recognise the value that each of them has to offer.
Most importantly, empathetic leadership allows leaders to show vulnerability by admitting that they do not have all the answers and inviting their employees to open up to them. For instance, if a project is running late, an empathetic leader would seek to understand why that was the case and which bottlenecks were in place rather than reprimanding the employees for the delay. By doing so, employees would feel free to drop their guard and share the challenges they were facing, enabling the team to brainstorm ways to resolve the issues. Such vulnerability leads to more transparency within the organisation as opposed to cases where employees feel the need to lie and omit information from their reports for fear of being punished.
Does More Trust Result in More Motivation?
Research shows that the more employees feel supported by their leaders, the more invested they become in their work. And while there are many ways to explain this, it ultimately boils down to a shift from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. How so? In organisations where leaders are not empathetic, employees find that they work to chase bonuses, avoid punishment, and achieve other external goals as a reaction to the organisational environment. But when they feel safe and valued, they feel more aligned with organisational goals, missions, and visions, and they see themselves as part of the team. So, as much as they will work towards things such as bonuses and promotions, they also feel motivated not to let their teams down and take personal pride in their work.
It is important to note, though, that great leadership stems from cognitive empathy, which involves seeking to understand what a person is thinking and feeling, rather than emotional empathy, which involves feeling their emotions in a way that could overwhelm you. The former enables you to be in a safe space without hurting your performance at work.
