Why You Need to Show Empathy as a Leader

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand their perspective and feelings and it is an essential leadership skill. Empathy is a key component of emotional intelligence, and it has a direct impact on how employees feel about their bosses, their jobs, and the organization as a whole.

Empathy Builds Trust and Loyalty

Employee retention has never been more of a challenge. The number one reason why employees leave an organization is their boss. Empathetic leaders who prioritize understanding their employees will foster a sense of trust and appreciation. Employees who feel heard, appreciated and valued will feel more loyal to their boss and to the organization.

Empathy Increases Employee Happiness

When employees trust their leaders, when they feel that their voices are heard and their opinions are valued, they will be happier with their jobs. If a leader lacks empathy, employees will begin to adopt the notion that if the boss doesn’t care, they shouldn’t care either. Apathetic bosses cultivate apathetic employees while empathetic bosses build up their employees, provide them with tools to succeed and cultivate greater feelings of happiness in the workplace.

Empathy Helps Foster Teamwork

Happy employees who feel valued tend to put forth more effort into their daily work, but they also tend to put forth more effort to help their coworkers. Employees mirror the behaviors they see from their leaders and when empathy is demonstrated, it gets passed down. Boosting empathy increases teamwork, decreases conflict and helps boost productivity across the board.

Empathy Can Boost Creativity

Employees who feel heard and valued will often be more willing to take risks to add value to their team. Because they trust their leaders, they will be more likely to put time into coming up with new ideas or taking different approaches to solving problems. Those employees may worry less about failure because they feel leaders will help them fail forward and will appreciate the risk that they took in trying to come up with fresh approaches.

Want More Advice on Building Strong Teams?

If you are looking for more tips on fostering employee happiness to boost retention or if you are seeking creative sales and marketing talent for your ag business, contact the expert agriculture recruiters at Morris Bixby today. Our process is streamlined, accurate and efficient to ensure you have access to the skilled, well-matched marketing professionals you need.

|

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *