If CEOs can step into a ministerial role - extending hands virtually, truly listening, relating to and connecting with people where they are - there is enormous potential to inspire people and strengthen bonds and loyalties within the company.”īut just as each of us has varying levels of empathy, not every leader is equally empathic.
The pandemic and other stressful events over the past few years have only made empathic communications even more desirable and necessary, especially as those expressions have become more virtual - including videos, social media posts, and emails.Īs Paul Tufano, CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas, explains in a July 2020 McKinsey & Company article, “This has been a sustained period of uncertainty and fear, but also a great opportunity to forge a stronger, more cohesive, and more motivated workforce. We even sometimes reimagine “CEO” as “Chief Empathy Officer.” There’s no question that the ability to step into another’s shoes and understand their situation and challenges is a powerful trait that builds trust and faith. Through empathetic listening, you can create a space in which others feel safe being themselves, laying the foundation for open and honest communication between both the speaker and the listener.Most business consultants - and certainly most workers - agree that empathy is a critical leadership skill. This kind of listening goes beyond the literal, and even beyond the subtext of what’s been said, to the emotion beneath it. (Sure, this information can also help you get to a better to-do list or set of action items, but these would be the byproducts of building a stronger relationship with someone, rather than the first-level goal.)Įmpathetic listening asks you to go beyond the surface of what is being said to unpack why and how it’s being said and get to know someone’s emotional experience-and empathize with it. Where active listening may readily result in a list of action items, empathetic listening is focused on a stronger connection among teammates and a clearer understanding of another person’s needs, motivations, and perceptions. But unlike active listening, empathetic listening puts a special emphasis on understanding the other person’s emotional experience.
Empathetic listening inside out full#
It’s similar to its counterpart, active listening, in that both kinds of listening require giving your full attention to another person in order to better understand them. It means taking in what another person is saying-or not saying-with the intent to understand and relate to them on a human level. Empathetic listening is what happens when you deliberately slow things down and seek to understand others’ inner worlds. It can even help you shift the balance of your relationship with your manager from head-scratching (What did their feedback mean?) to aligned.Īnd there’s one type of listening that deserves extra attention for its quietly powerful impact on your career: empathetic listening.Īt its core, empathetic listening is about connection. It enables you to improve partnerships with your peers and thereby collaborate more effectively. Effective listening helps you to understand others better, allowing you to get your work done on time. But you might not have focused as much on honing the other side of the equation: listening skills.īecoming a better listener comes with real advantages in the workplace.
Empathetic listening inside out how to#
When it comes to improving communication in the workplace, you may have learned how to give better presentations, more clearly articulate your ideas, and even influence others through better pitches, decks, and speeches.
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