Could empathy be your superpower in 2022?

Words by Mimi Nicklin

As the environments we work within become ever tougher and sharper-edged, especially in the current global economic reality, we are seeing employee productivity as well as workplace wellbeing under immense pressure.

We have a deep problem at the exact point where humanity meets capitalism, and there is a lack of balance between the two which is impacting the performance, motivation and capability of team members.

This is a problem fuelled by three key parts: First, an ubiquitous obsession with growth at all costs which sees employee wellness drop in importance; second, a never-ending stress cycle that impacts staff at all levels; and third, a widespread disconnection between our people and corporate culture at an unprecedented scale.

Empathy is a skill set we are all born with.

At its most basic, we are talking about perspective-taking and listening – the ability of a leader to see context from another’s viewpoint.

While these are deeply evolutionary skillsets, we are not seeing enough resources spent on developing empathy at work and therefore we are seeing a large number of organisations now looking to use a host of content, workshops and listening methodologies to teach this skill set to leaderships teams globally.

Two of empathy’s greatest enemies are low time and high stress and when you look at many leaders today, they aren’t doing enough to alleviate these factors in the workplace.

Human beings do not perform, think or design at optimal levels if they are not treated as whole employees, considering their work, their health and their perspective.

Empathy in leadership is a data set and an input for every business, The method of balancing them reduces risk and improves uptake and trust from staff, leading to improvements across KPIs. 

There are not enough leaders that are recognising this critical mindset and humanity-led leadership shift.

Without being able to walk in the shoes of your employees and understand their diverse viewpoints, it is nearly impossible to inspire and lead teams to success, and even harder to create marketing, powerful business decisions or innovative products that truly and deeply resonate with people.

When you factor in the Great Resignation globally you further realise that the demand for leaders to change their perspective is not only timely, but mandatory.

Fundamentally, as we face a new era of corporate comradery, it shouldn’t be so hard to remember that above all else, all business is about people.

Whatever you sell, whatever it is that makes you your money, it will be the people that dig us out of this crisis, and leaders shouldn’t risk underestimating the power they hold when they empathise with what it is that makes their people tick.

As all business leaders look to regenerate their organisations in the months ahead, empathising with your workforce and your clients could be the difference between gasping for air and grabbing success.

Mimi Nicklin is a globally recognised millennial thought-leader on empathy, CEO of inclusive creative agency Freedm and author of Softening the Edge