I had some follow up thoughts to my post on empathy from yesterday, sparked by Stacy Metzger's comments, which read, in part:
"Empathy is critical in business. It enables us to better understand our customers’ wants, needs, fears, etc., so we can solve meaningful problems."
So true.
And so ironic that in our urgent pursuit of "results" – more clients, better products, more money – we sabotage those results by not leading with empathy or acting with compassion.
We fail to optimize trust and connection on our teams. People leave.
We fail to learn and understand the needs of our customers. They go to another company.
Leading with empathy does not imply that you can not be direct or firm, expect high quality work, or be driven to achieve results.
You can (and should) do all that.
And just do it all knowing that shit happens, that people are motivated by different things, and that. . . well, life. . .
Kim Scott calls it Radical Candor: caring personally and challenging directly.
Michelle Kim talks about compassionate criticality. Meeting people where they are and not ignoring problematic comments.
Teachers and parents may be familiar with Positive Discipline: kind and firm.
If you want "results," empathy is an enabler, not a blocker.