By Sam Adeyemi
The 5 Ws of Empathetic Leadership
If you were a naval captain 300 years ago, would you have inspired a mutiny?
Today’s executives are expected to do more than monitor productivity and support the bottom line. The most successful leaders in the 21st century are those who confidently and consistently practice empathy. These leaders understand the wants and needs of their individual team members, and these teams are subsequently more satisfied with their positions and more efficient in completing a range of tasks.
But how familiar are you with executive empathy and its impacts on your organization? Decide for yourself by considering the five Ws of empathetic leadership.
THE FIVE Ws OF EMPATHETIC LEADERSHIP
| WHAT IS IT? | WHY DOES IT MATTER? | WHERE DOES IT ALL BEGIN? | WHO CAN ACQUIRE IT? | WHEN WILL YOU KNOW IT’S WORKING? |
| Your bridge to understanding others and navigating workplace disputes. | Empathetic leaders encourage retention and boost productivity across the board. | It starts with practice, and it starts with you, the executive in charge. | Empathy is a teachable trait, but can you support the learning? | Empathy demands patience and routine to flourish. |
WHAT is empathetic leadership?
Let’s suppose you’re the captain of a naval ship in the 1700s. If you are in charge of a fighting frigate, then odds are there are over 200 sailors at your command, each with their own station, personality, and individual struggles.
A captain who lacks empathy views these individuals as interchangeable parts of the ship’s process, second in priority to the collective task at hand. Conversely, an empathetic leader understands that those individuals are what push the process forward, choosing instead to be sensitive to the needs of each crew member through active listening and open engagement. Who do you think will spark a mutiny? As a modern-day captain, empathetic leadership is your bridge to understanding the needs of others, and it is the only means for connecting with your employees in a way that is both authentic and inclusive.
The Nore and Spithead mutinies of 1797 are two of the most famous examples of sailors rebelling against the British Royal Navy. But the pay and working conditions for sailors at the time had largely remained the same. So why the discontent? Simply put, the British navy had recently started covering the bottom of their ships in copper, which meant ships were returning to port far less often for repairs, resulting in much longer times at sea. The leadership had zero understanding of how such a change would affect the lives of individual sailors, and these leaders paid the price in organizational collapse.
WHY does it matter?
The leaders of today do not often need to fear mutiny in the same way that 18th-century captains did. Modern working conditions and employee protections are in place to prevent that level of dissatisfaction within a workforce. But what if I told you that a lack of empathy could lower your team’s productivity, decrease overall retention in the organization, and leave your employees feeling unheard and disengaged? For a successful leader in the 21st century, these symptoms are the silent killer. They represent a failure in working culture, and the crew’s “mutiny” will be felt in every early departure and underwhelming quarterly report.
Empathetic leaders understand their employees and connect with them on a meaningful level. In doing so, these leaders boost productivity and promote a more sustainable work-life balance. What’s more, 76% of people with highly empathetic senior leaders report often or always feeling engaged, compared to only 32% of people working under leaders who are less understanding and attentive. So, when you’re saying NO to empathy, you’re also saying NO to its many short-term and long-term benefits. This isn’t simply a matter of subjective emotion — it’s a matter of the real consequences empathy can and will have within any organization.
WHERE does it all begin?
Unlike handedness or a distaste for cilantro, empathy is a trait that must be developed. While your genetic gifts may give you a small head start toward becoming a more understanding leader, there is absolutely no substitute for practice and intention. Our genes can be highly deterministic. However, when it comes to empathy and understanding, our genetic inheritance takes a distant second to associative learning, individual upbringing, and (perhaps most importantly) personal development. As leaders, empathy is not something we simply have or do not have. Rather, it is something we choose to either develop or neglect.
Sam Snead is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers in history, and he is the only golfer to earn just as many PGA victories as Tiger Woods. Later in life, Sam would turn to coaching and author a number of instructional books and insightful memoirs dedicated to the sport he loved so much. In his books, Sam offered a lot of advice about getting better at golf, but my favorite nugget of wisdom is very simple: “Practice puts brains in your muscles.”
For the successful and empathetic leader, practice puts empathy into your leadership. By actively developing empathy within yourself, you also encourage empathy from others within your organization, which is the foundation of a supportive working culture. So, practice — but start with yourself and start right now.
WHO can acquire it?
A number of medical studies have shown that empathy is “mutable and can be taught,” which is both good news and bad news for the modern leader. If empathy can be taught, then it is something that can spread inside your organization at any time and from any source. Gutenberg’s printing press started a global news network and launched the scientific revolution simply because it made it easier to spread an idea. If a skill or trait can easily pass from one team member to the next, then it is much more likely to inspire meaningful change to your organization’s working culture.
That said, if something can be taught, it is still dependent on two undeniable pieces of circumstance: the subject’s willingness to learn and the teacher’s ability to instruct effectively. This is why the most successful leaders make empathy a demonstrable priority within the workplace, choosing instead to focus on people first and process second. The result is an environment in which the evolution of compassion is encouraged and empathy travels freely from one team to another.
WHEN will you know it’s working?
Since the 1960s, we’ve heard it repeated that it takes around 21 days to form a new habit. Not only is this bit of popular science inaccurate, but a 2023 study has revealed there is actually no magic number or deadline for establishing a new way of doing things. If you’re just trying to wash your hands with a different soap, then the change might be virtually immediate. However, if you’re attempting anything more complicated, such as following a new exercise routine, then the timeframe could be closer to six months. Empathy is not a one-dimensional skill, and there is no singular shortcut to being an empathetic leader. Consequently, those leaders who hope to spread empathy inside their organization must be prepared to practice patience and make empathy a habitual part of their professional routine.
More specifically, developing executive empathy demands repetition. Myelin is the fatty substance that forms around the axons in our brain to help send signals faster and more efficiently. Over time, a thicker coating of myelin forms along the pathways that are used by the brain the most often, meaning that spaced repetition literally makes your brain work better and faster. So what’s the catch? Myelin only does this for habitual behavior, and the substance does not distinguish the bad from the good. The more routine the behavior becomes, the stronger and more responsive its connections in the brain.
Raise the anchor!
So you haven’t inspired a mutiny. That’s a good start. But, are you practicing the type of leadership that is both maximizing productivity and letting your teammates feel heard and understood? Without empathy, it simply isn’t possible. Executive empathy is your bridge to understanding others and achieving your organization’s greatest potential. It is a demanding transformation that must start with you. It is teachable, but only for an interested student and a dedicated teacher.
It is the mark of every successful captain. Raise the anchor!
About the Author: Dr. Sam Adeyemi is a leadership expert and founder of Daystar Leadership Academy (DLA) in Nigeria. His new book is Dear Leader: Your Flagship Guide to Successful Leadership. Learn more at SamAdeyemi.com.