Leaders with empathy better for the workplace than big-brained tyrants

Leaders with empathy is the new trend in the workplace after Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was the ultimate sign of a competent employee and capable business leader for many years.

However, in today’s workplace in a climate characterised by uncertainty, rising economic pressure, changing social ideals and political turbulence, emotional intelligence (EQ) has become more important.

Empathy is one of the hallmarks of EQ and in the workplace empathy is one of the main cornerstones of effective people management and leadership, Kgomotso Ramoenyane, executive general manager of human resources at Business Partners Limited, says.

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“Empathy has long been overlooked as a soft skill with little measurable worth in terms of business metrics such as productivity and profitability but in the workplace, it should be regarded as a key performance indicator.”

Many experts agree that empathy is both ‘good for people’ and ‘good for profit’.

Tara Van Bommel, a statistician and doctor of social psychology, describes empathy as an “effective business strategy” and an essential component of crisis management, transformation and building inclusive workforces where people can thrive.

Immediate benefit of empathy

The most immediate benefit of practicing empathy towards colleagues and peers is longer lasting and more meaningful relationships, which are beneficial in both personal and work settings, Ramoenyane says.

“Empathy allows people to overcome social, cultural and language barriers and when employees feel understood and acknowledged, they perform better, feel more incentivised and have more positive attitudes towards their jobs.”

Ramoenyane points out that this can have far-reaching benefits, such as better employee retention, higher levels of productivity, more creativity and innovation and improved levels of customer service.

She has a keen interest in helping small businesses to build their ventures on strong values such as empathy, because employees are often called upon to perform under immense pressure.

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“Unlike larger corporate teams, small business workforces rely heavily on effective collaboration and mutual cooperation.”

It is important to nurture a sense of belonging and create an environment where each individual can understand their importance and value, as it is critical to business longevity.

Encouraging small and medium enterprise (SME) leaders to “get practical about people management”, Ramoenyane recommends these steps to build an empathetic work environment:

Workplace communication

Principles such as kindness and compassion should be at the centre of all workplace communication, whether in-person or virtual.

Where it is not possible to follow this standard, employees must have appropriate channels where they can express their emotions without fear of being judged, discriminated against or ignored.

Ramoenyane encourages leaders to put together a “communication charter” that can be distributed and explained to all team members.

It should set a standard for what constitutes good communication between co-workers, management teams and senior leaders.

Mental health training for remote teams

Where entire or parts of the workforce operate remotely, empathy can go a long way to reduce the stress that often accompanies working remotely.

The pandemic demonstrated the detrimental effect that long working hours, isolation, higher demands, financial difficulties and bigger workloads can have on employees’ mental health.

“We need to take the learnings from the pandemic and apply it to the ‘new world of work’ in which the wellbeing of employees should matter not only to leaders and SME owners, but also to fellow co-workers.”

Ramoenyane says staff members should therefore be made aware of how to identify and help prevent the signs of burnout from developing further through training, reading resources and open forums.

Ask questions that matter

Ramoenyane recommends dedicating time and space to receiving feedback by asking open-ended questions. These catch-up sessions should take place outside of formal review processes and can involve a checklist of a few questions such as:

• How has the recent change in management affected you?
• What is the one thing you wish your manager knew and understood about you?
• Are there any personal struggles you want to share?
• What is the biggest hurdle you currently face at work?

“Use regular check-ins with team members to build trust and prioritise these kinds of relationship-building exercises, especially because in a tough and competitive environment, human capital is an invaluable resource that needs to be shown the necessary support to thrive,” she says.