Empathy, above all else

In writing my series about high-performing teams, I thought to pause on the one key element required in all forms of leadership. Without this, your teams will not develop a sense of trust, cohesion, or feel safe. That key element is empathy.

Empathy is different than sympathy, which Brené Brown does a great job explaining in this short video:

Brown discusses what she views as the 4 qualities of empathy:

1. Perspective taking -- Being able to see something from someone else's view.
2. Staying out of judgement -- Refraining from passing judgement on someone, especially without knowing the full story.
3. Recognizing emotion in others.
4. Being able to communicate the above.  

Simon Sinek, whose talks I highlighted before, speaks to the incredible impact great leaders have in creating a culture of safety and empathy, and the positive results which follow: 

One of Sinek's most powerful examples of empathy is the military captain awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Captain William Swensen ran into live fire in Afghanistan to rescue wounded soldiers. One of the medics in the rescue helicopter had a GoPro camera, which captured the moment when Captain Swensen helped bring a wounded soldier into the helicopter, then bent down and kissed him, before heading back to the field to rescue others. 

Sinek uses the emotional story to make us reflect on our own teams. How many of your employees would you do something like that for? How many of your employees would do something like that for you? For others? I am not talking about the kiss specifically, of course, although that in itself helps to demonstrate the deep bond between the captain and his soldier. 

Sinek says, 

"In the military they give medals to people who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that others may gain. In business we give bonuses to people who are willing to sacrifice others so that we may gain." 

In a different example, Google's Chade-Meng Tan describes how empathy at work helps to improve people's lives, and ultimately the world. The Jolly Good Fellow... Which Nobody Can Deny (yes, that was his official job title) recently retired from Google to pursue his mission of helping to create the conditions for world peace. I am truly inspired by him and his work.

In the video, Tan speaks about how inner peace, inner joy, and compassion help to enable happiness and reduce stress. He alludes to mindfulness and promotes meditation to raise self-awareness. This self-awareness in turn guides us to be more compassionate and live with more empathy.

I believe empathy is the single most important attribute for leaders. With it comes many inspiring and positive outcomes that can make yourself, your team, and even the world a better place.