Strong Leaders Have Empathy

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man merged with an ancient city representing empathy is a trait of strong leaders

The Benefits of Empathy in Leadership

Empathy is a trait of strong leaders because the best leaders are able to think for the greater good of the group rather than getting caught up in self-preoccupied puffery which leads to impulsive thoughts and rash decisions.

Historically, the most powerful leaders ruled from their own ego which means they were self-centered to the extreme. Self-centered people are low on empathy. These types of leaders certainly still exist today, whether they are heads of a country, commanders in chief at a specific level of government, or even patriarchs or matriarchs of a family.

The Challenges of Lacking Empathy

The problem with self-centered leaders who are weak on empathy is that they tend to rule using fear tactics rather than love. Lead with love? Yes, love matters if you are truly interested in the happiness of all and if you truly wish to guide others to a place of betterment – because of your love for people, not because of a need for attention, control, or adulation.

What Is Empathy?

Keep in mind that empathy is the ability to see through the eyes of another. It does not necessarily mean that you have any depth of feeling for what said other person is experiencing. It could mean that, but not always. Many people who have the ability to empathize can successfully jump inside the mind of another person and ultimately use that awareness to persuade or manipulate that person (or that group of people).

The Power of Empathy

Empathy can of course be taken to the emotional level of compassion, which means that you are able to also feel the feelings of the person with whom you are empathizing.

Leaders who score high on empathy do not always have, or choose to have compassion for, the people whom they are guiding either in a professional, governmental, or another type of authoritative role. However, sometimes compassion can get in the way of rational decisions. So empathy is probably just the right ingredient for strong leadership – because you have just enough ability to imagine what someone else may be thinking or feeling – but you’re not caught up in the emotion of it which could cause a subjective decision that ultimately may not serve the group.

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