PAPERmaking! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY Volume 6, Number 2, 2020
How Can Organizations Foster Empathy? Context sets the stage for success or failure. Therefore, organizations that set up contexts that promote behaviour change will be more successful. Rather than assuming leaders will develop the skill of empathy with brief training, applying evidence-based strategies enables organizations to create local contexts to weave empathy into everyday interactions. First , the management team visibly needs to support understanding, developing and practicing empathy at all organizational levels. Senior leaders create the systems that promote (or prevent) empathy. They can’t afford to outsource this work to the human resources department. Second , adding empathy to reward systems puts “teeth” behind leaders’ words about empathy’s importance to the organization. Third , developing empathy requires new processes and resources. Offering formal empathy training and “in - the- flow of work” coaching helps employees learn and practice new empathic behaviours on the job. Fourth , it’s a good idea to ensure that your organization is hiring people with the knowledge and skills needed to actively engage in developing empathy. Specifically design organizational talent systems to attract and reward people who are learning-oriented and motivated to expand their capabilities. Finally , regularly communicating the value of developing and practicing empathy can include publicizing initiatives, celebrating good examples of empathy, and sharing mistakes and lessons learned. What Would Change If Leaders and Organizations Prioritized Empathy? Empathic behaviours would pay off in both the short and long term. McKinsey reports that demand for emotional and social skills will increase as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics automate more work. When working with other people, understanding their thoughts and feelings is essential for successful coordination. Behavioural empathy is, as a result, often critical to team performance and personal success. If we take empathy seriously, solving seemingly intractable problems like systemic racism would be easier because more people would be equipped for difficult conversations and taking action. Few problems have “silver bullet” solutions, but increasing empathy improves the odds of creating and sustaining real change that benefits us all. Stephen Young, Ph.D., and Cathleen Swody, Ph.D. ǣ Ȁ Ȁ ȀǤ Ȁ ȀȀǦǦǦǦǦǦǦ ǦǦǦǦ
Article 15 – Empathy
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