While being sympathetic to the feelings of others may be kind and a wonderful human trait, it can also be an impediment to being a good leader. Rather, employing emotional intelligence in the workplace requires empathy; the ability to relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experiences of others, without becoming caught up in emotional turmoil.

Consider the difference between empathy and sympathy: empathy is understanding how others feel, the ability to put yourself in other’s shoes. Unlike being sympathetic, you don’t have to feel the same way when you are being empathetic. If you do experience the same emotions, you are still being aware of them. You stay grounded, present to the emotions of others, and at the same time, you are not carried away by these emotions and keep things in perspective.

In other words, practicing empathy in the workplace as one of your best leadership skills enables you to understand where team members and coworkers are coming from, without having to deal with potentially overwhelming or debilitating emotional reactions to a particular situation.

EQ-I 2.0 Emotional Awareness Component: Empathy

As a part of the EQ-I 2.0 interpersonal component that defines the characteristics of emotional intelligence:

• Empathy is recognizing, understanding, and appreciating how other people feel. Empathy involves being able to articulate your understanding of another’s perspective and behaving in a way that respects others’ feelings. Empathy then leads to improved:
• Interpersonal relationships, which refers to the skill of developing and maintaining mutually satisfying relationships that are characterized by trust and compassion; which then can enhance:
• Social responsibility or, the ability to willingly contribute to society, to one’s social groups, and generally to the welfare of others. This involves acting responsibly, having social consciousness, and showing concern for the community at large.

As a leadership skill, empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and appreciate how those who work for you feel, and is a crucial EI skill at the heart of all effective work relationships. An empathetic nature will make you an approachable and open leader, with whom coworkers and team members feel safe sharing their thoughts and ideas. People thrive in safe environments, which leads to increased performance and better results.

Again, by developing empathy as one of your best leadership skills, you may discover that:

• You are “in tune” to how others in your company or organization are feeling.
• You care about the thoughts and feelings of coworkers as much as you do your own.
• Under times of stress or moments of defensiveness, you no longer adopt a less empathetic approach and, instead of arguing your own position, you consider the needs of others and find better ways to communicate your ideas and/or create a win-win solution.

To enhance your use of emotional intelligence in the workplace, you can begin working to develop your sense of empathy as a way to provide a solid foundation for all other interpersonal skill areas. This will allow you to draw on your ability to respect others so that your interactions with them do not just appear to be, but are, sincere.

Do you sometimes find yourself struggling to appreciate the feelings and needs of your workers; to be an empathetic leader? Would you like to find the help you need to improve your leadership skills, through the enhanced use of emotional intelligence in the workplace? If so, let’s chat. Click here to schedule your FREE Discovery Call.