Empathy is an attribute but it should also be a goal. It’s a quality that comes naturally to great leaders who’ve innately understood their constituents and affected change. For others, we have to work hard at it.
As the leader of a service business — essentially a grouping of diverse relationships — it’s important for me to approach challenges and opportunities with the position that every relationship is an equation. Understanding that there is give and take in every relationship and seeking the value exchange on either side of the equation makes relationships empathetic, honest, mutually valuable and sustainable.
This approach is helpful in cultivating empathy and an understanding of markets, clients, colleagues and communities. And for those of us not among the pantheon of great leaders, it’s a useful strategy exercise.
