Empathy is the ability to see things from another’s perspective. Thus, it is an incredibly useful and beneficial tool for humans. Being able to understand where someone is coming from, why they are behaving or reacting the way they are is certainly a great tool to have. At first glance, business can seem unemotional. However, it is filled with humans. So every decision and reaction are clouded with human feelings and emotions. Therefore, cultivating empathy in your organization can have very good benefits.
Empathy Can Help Leaders Understand Employees & Vice Versa
A frustrating aspect of leadership and management is when employees full of potential underperform. Or, they seem to self-destruct. Underperformance or acting out always have a root cause. And they are rarely just that an employee is lazy, bad or incapable. Empathy can help you learn how to more effectively communicate with employees. So, you’ll be able to ask insightful questions. Which, means you can gain some understanding about why they behave the way they do.
This is not to say empathy is the same as condoning or sympathizing with employees’ behavior. You can gain insight and potentially figure out a better way to connect with or support the employee. However, empathy isn’t a magic pill.
Likewise, cultivating empathy can help employees more clearly understand the behaviors and motives of leadership. So, they’ll realize they aren’t unheard. And, that leaders aren’t just out to make their lives difficult. Employees who view situations with an empathetic air could see the motivating factors behind management decisions.
Empathy Can Improve Customer Relations
Customer service can be lackluster, unrewarding and downright frustrating. So, when negative experiences outweigh the positive, it can be easy to understand why some companies don’t equate customers with pleasant experiences. However, customers all have different life experiences and motivations. Everything comes together to form their personalities and interactions. Developing a robust, empathetic air in your organization can help employees view customers differently. Which in turn, can lead to them treating customers differently.
When customers are frustrating or reacting to situations, your employees may have an easier time remaining calm and help your customers feel heard and appreciated.
Empathy Can Improve Your Organization In General
Some companies have an easier time being involved in their communities or active in charity based on what the company structure is or the products and services they produce. Cultivating empathy not only allows your organization and employees to see things differently, it can be very eye opening in general. You may find your teams take greater notice of things happening around them or be more inclined to get involved in community relations.
You’ll likely notice less frustration, tension, and unhappiness in your Middle Market organization. Employees won’t struggle as much to understand each other which can lead to more open, honest communication and better collaborations. Leaders and employees will see each other more clearly and empathy often helps miscommunication and misunderstandings come to a quicker, satisfactory resolution.
Empathy isn’t a magic bullet to fix everything in your company, but working towards actively focusing on and cultivating an empathetic air could greatly benefit many areas within your organization.
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