Q&A: How Empathy Makes for Effective Leadership; HR Exchange Network, January 3, 2022

Francesca Di Meglio , HR Exchange Network; Q&A: How Empathy Makes for Effective Leadership

"The next generation of leaders must have empathy. Life is hard, and the pandemic made it harder. So, kindness and heart are becoming more important than even practical skills like accounting. Many employees are facing tremendous pressure, and now HR leaders are responding. Mental health and wellness are top priorities of organizations aiming to recruit and retain top talent. 

As a result of this shift, employers are recognizing the need for softer skills in hires. Recently, Maria Leggett, director of Education at MHI in Charlotte, North Carolina, spoke to HR Exchange Network about the importance of empathy in leadership. Leggett will be hosting a session at the online event HR and the Future of Work, which takes place February 22 to 24, 2022. 

HREN: Why is empathy vital to leadership? Why has it come to the forefront now?

ML: There is room for kindness. Now more than ever, we need kindness in the workplace. With the talent shortage and remote work, employees have more and more career options. As a result, managers need to be more people-focused and incorporate empathy and kindness into their leadership approach.

Empathy is about understanding. Having compassion allows us to see different points of view and perspectives. Employees want to be more than just "seen." They want their managers to know that they work hard and accomplish a lot while having a life outside of work. When managers connect and collaborate with their teams effectively, they learn more about their strengths and skills and get the most out of their interactions with their teams. Empathy helps facilitate that.

HREN: How do you teach or help managers to be empathetic?

ML: Slow down, ask questions, listen more, and be authentic. When people hear more and talk less, they can be open to different perspectives and respond more appropriately to situations.  While managers may have to deliver feedback that is not always positive, people are more likely to receive the input when delivered with empathy and genuine authenticity.  

COVID has allowed people to be more authentic as they worked out of their homes, allowing people to see a personal side and providing people space to be their whole self. That won’t change when things get back to a more stable state. COVID has demonstrated that people can still show up and accomplish great work, even with a chaotic personal life. No one has time for someone to be micro-managing, uncompromising, and lacking empathy. Empathy is changing the fabric of our work culture."

Depiction of Amazon Stirs a Debate About Work Culture; New York Times, 8/18/15

New York Times; Depiction of Amazon Stirs a Debate About Work Culture:

"Amazon recently surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the country. It is ceaselessly inventive, unafraid to try something and fail. Its ambitious goal: sell everything to everyone everywhere. It is also figuring out how to extract the most from its employees, whose dedication and obsession is the real engine behind the company’s success.

A recent article in The New York Times —“Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace” — offered a glimpse into what could be described as a workplace that is both bruising and thrilling. It gave accounts of workers who suffered from cancer, miscarriages and other personal crises who said they had been evaluated unfairly or edged out rather than given time to recover in Amazon’s intense and fast-paced workplace.

The reaction to the story was voluminous and spirited. On websites like Reddit and Hacker News, tech workers, Amazon employees and friends and relatives offered thoughtful and detailed reflections of their experiences at the company. Jeff Bezos, its chief executive, also weighed in."

Next Steps: Change at American University; American Libraries, 1/27/10

Bill Matthews, American Libraries; Next Steps: Change at American University: Managing for change and continuous improvement:

"Bill Mayer imagines a library without librarians. The way he sees it, his campus is filled with activity and he wants his librarians to be a part of the action. “Their role isn’t to simply go out and generate more visibility” he explains, “but to become more involved with everything that is going on around us.”

This vision opens up the library for new types of programming spaces. “I’d really like to see the library transformed into a series of living rooms and kitchens,” Mayer suggests. This metaphor builds on the idea that at parties, people congregate around the food and comfortable sitting areas. Libraries in this manner would become a natural place for learners to mix and mingle.

Mayer has been the university librarian at American University in Washington D. C. for two and a half years and is crafting a bold agenda for the future. This is evident in the library’s new mission statement: we enable success. Reading like a call to action, this simple statement pushes forward a powerful charge that reframes the library as an integral part of campus. “I’m not really a fan of build-it-and-they-will-come,” Mayer says. “We need to constantly scan for opportunities and fill any voids that we see.”

And just how does one make radical change happen? Mayer provides an analogy: “Change is like water on brick, with a steady stream over a long period of time, changes will occur.” Altering work culture isn’t something that can happen overnight; it is an ongoing and constant process."

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/next-steps-change-american-university