PAPERmaking! g FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY Volume 6, Number 2, 2020
According to a recent review of rigorous organizational research, there are three types of empathy: 1. Affective Empathy Affective empathy involves experiencing others’ emotions. 2. Cognitive Empathy Cognitive empathy involves understanding others’ thoughts and feelings. 3. Behavioural Empathy Behavioural empathy refers to the verbal and non-verbal behaviours that indicate affective or cognitive empathy, including reflecting others’ fac ial expression, voice and gestures. This empathy also is conveyed through communication, such as verbally expressing understanding (e.g., paraphrasing), asking questions about another person’s thoughts or feelings, and non -verbal demonstrations of listening (e.g., head nodding). Does Empathy Matter at Work? Current research shows that cognitive and behavioural empathy make an impact in the workplace. One study found that individuals who displayed behavioural empathy were viewed as emerging leaders among thei r master of business administration (MBA) peers because they considered others’ perspectives. Other research suggests that workers with high levels of cognitive empathy are more likely to show compassion and help others. Regarding affective empathy, neuroscience research has shown that feeling pain with others activates the same regions of the brain as experiencing it first-hand. A compassionate reaction does not cause pain itself, but it does produce concern, warmth and motivation to help the sufferer. This finding suggests that there are great benefits from teaching individuals to focus on being compassionate. When their direct reports view them as more compassionate or “empathically concerned,” leaders’ supervisors rate them as better performers, less likely to derail and more skilled at giving negative feedback. As a recent example, as of May 2020, U.S. states with female governors have had fewer COVID-19 deaths than states with male governors, and an analysis of 1.2 million words of transcripts found that the women expressed more empathic concern in their briefings, demonstrating the importance of leaders’ ability to demonstrate empathy. Can People Learn Empathy? Although individual people’s baseline empathy varies naturally, evidence suggests that they can improve it. For example, a lab study increased cognitive empathy by instructing individuals to “feel the full impact of what the other person is going through.” These individuals then delivered negative feedback in a way that was viewed as more fair and just. Many leadership development consultants see growth among leaders who deliberately work on strengthening specific aspects of empathy. Effective change starts with the motivation to improve, which often comes from learning how empathy contributes to positive outcomes for individuals and the organization. Next, distilling empathy into small behaviours helps leaders practice during training and then on the job. For example, empathic communication involves actively listening (i.e., being attentive, summarizing, clarifying, paraphrasing, etc.) and engaging others through powerful questions (e.g., open-ended rather than leading or yes/no questions; avoiding jumping into problem-solving, and exploring the situation by asking, “What is your goal?”). Perspective-taking is another best practice. It involves pausing and creating space to respond thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively. This skill involves thinking through others’ expectations before meetings; pushing oneself to find additional ways of vie wing a situation; and staying curious about another person’s viewpoint, rather than judging or becoming defensive. Although simple, these skills take time to develop through deliberate and regular practice on the job. Asking for feedback from a trusted colleague and regular self-reflection are tactics that help empathy improvements “stick.”
Article 15 – Empathy
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