Empathy

Today, I’m sending along references to two pieces from Rick Brenner’s Chaco Canyon Consulting email newsletter on empathy.

The Merriam-Webster OnLine dictionary tells us that empathy is “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.”  

To be an effective leader requires you to be skilled in the use of empathy.  In “Peek-a-Boo and Leadership”  several suggestions can be found to assist you in sharpening your empathy skills.  There, you’ll see that several tools that have already been introduced — e.g., reflections, journalling, and asking open questions — are also helpful tools in being empathetic.  The second piece, “The Uses of Empathy“, identifies a number of situations in which you can put your empathy skills to use.  

Have a great week.  .  .  .  .     jim