Tag Archive for: empathy in leadership

The Human Skills of Leaders

October 18, 2024/0 Comments/in Human Skills, Leadership/by Angela MacCabe

In leading a team, being an efficient and strong communicator is not the only thing that matters. Your overall behaviour plays a big role. Getting to know yourself and further developing your human skills as a leader can have a great impact on your team’s performance as well as your own.

Indeed, Assistant Vice President of Continuing Studies at York University Tracey Taylor-O’Reilly says that “While technical skills may get workers hired, it’s their human skills that will allow them to excel in the workplace”.

Self-awareness and empathy often top the list of the most in-demand human skills in the workplace – along with curiosity, communication, and decision-making, which are directly correlated.

Self-Awareness for Better Performance

How we behave as professionals is no different than how we behave as individuals. We may be able to adapt but who we are transpires in everything that we do and influences our behaviours and our relationships at work.

However, society has placed the focus on assessing performance first. Growing up, schools hand out report cards and the process continues throughout our professional career with performance reviews.

But such processes have been developed to measure our knowledge and actions and fail to analyze the root causes of our performance. They don’t take into consideration the beliefs, the emotions and the behaviours that we are made of.

The reality is that practising introspection and self-awareness gives us the opportunity to truly perform to the best of our ability. In fact, it has been demonstrated that there are significant correlations between emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness. If emotional intelligence is such an essential human skill to have in the workplace, it’s that it allows us to identify our limiting beliefs and to manage and adapt our behaviour so it doesn’t affect our performance and our relationships with others.

We rarely stop to reflect upon ourselves and on how our actions might affect others.

What makes us cringe at a colleague might be appreciated by others. What aims to express respect can sometimes be perceived as disrespect. But beyond knowing what you dislike in others and recognizing that no one is perfect, it may be worth asking yourself a few questions to assess the situation.

What are the behaviours that characterize you?
What types of behaviours can’t you stand in others?
Do you have a routine and what does it look like?
Do you go with the flow and rarely plan ahead of time?
Do you ever experience anxiety and when does it show up?
What sort of feedback have you gathered from others about yourself?
What sort of leader and communicator are you?

The answers to such questions can help you identify how you show up for others, what are the superpowers you need to leverage and which areas require improvement.

Don’t limit yourself to the workplace. Source examples from your private life as well.

The Role of Empathy

Self-awareness and empathy go hand in hand when it comes to the human skills of which the best leaders are made of.

In a recent blog post on self-awareness, I wrote that empathy is “a mindset and a comprehensive approach to being – in the workplace and in life”, and that it is “what gives us the ability to put ourselves in other people’s shoes so we can see and feel from their perspective”.

A high-performing team is one where resistance is at its lowest and trust is at its highest. Without trust, there is no collaborative mindset and no commitment to the team nor the company. And without empathy, there is no trust.

Empathy can be expressed by demonstrating interest, showing appreciation, practising active listening and asking questions. Empathy is about gaining context about where others are coming from, questioning our own beliefs and biases, avoiding criticism and being fully present.

When there is empathy exhibited by leaders and peers in the workplace, trust can automatically follow. This lends itself to a ‘safe to fail’ work environment that we’re all striving for.

At Intuity, we support leaders wanting to adopt trust-based leadership and improve their human skills in different ways.

We often start by working with organizations to understand their team dynamics. Showing our curiosity, we lean into questions like: What kind of leader are you and how do you show up with your team? What type of individuals are part of your team and how do they interact?

This can be done through observation, interviews, as well as our DISC, 360 Leader, Emotional Intelligence-Q, and other assessments and reports.

Coaching is also a great resource to increase self-awareness and help you find the answers within yourself.

Lastly, our Showing Leadership Blueprint Training is a full-day virtual group training that helps teams assess their individual and joint behaviours and how they influence team dynamics and performance.

Want to find out more? Contact us!

The Difficult Conversation: 5 Tips For Leaders

October 17, 2024/0 Comments/in Communication, Human Skills, Leadership/by Angela MacCabe

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to have a difficult conversation with a team member? Of course you have – we all have. But what do you do when that happens? What steps should you take before and during the conversation to make it go as smoothly as possible?

Difficult conversations aren’t fun. But leaders must take the time to hone this skill.

Creating a safe environment for all team members means finding a middle ground in the interactions you initiate with each member. A leader has a delicate balance between being friendly and approachable and keeping professional boundaries.

Having a game plan before beginning a difficult conversation is essential. If you’re going to have a meaningful and challenging talk with someone in your company, here are five tips that will help keep the exchange professional and productive.

Establish a clear purpose for the conversation

Leaders need to be clear about why they are having the difficult conversation and what precisely they are looking to achieve. Is an employee doing something wrong? Does an employee require clarification on their role or responsibilities? People will be more engaged if they know the purpose behind the challenging conversation and that it will lead to change or improvement.

By establishing purpose, the tone is set and gives the team member something concrete to focus on instead of feeling blindsided or confused by what’s happening.

Consider the situation from their standpoint

Before entering a difficult conversation, it’s essential to consider the team member’s perspectives. What is it that they are struggling with? What is keeping them up at night? How can you support them in addressing these issues? Asking yourself these questions and approaching the conversation with empathy will help you understand where they are coming from and help you better frame the conversation so that it addresses the primary concerns directly.

Be attentive

During a difficult conversation, it is vital that leaders remain present and actively listen while the team member is speaking – remember, this is about understanding where another person is coming from so that you can better address concerns and work towards a resolution together.

If we are thinking about what we want to say next or interrupt before they can express themselves, we are telling them in simple terms that we do not hear them. Through active listening, we can guide the conversation by asking probing questions like “Where do your challenges lie” or “Tell me more about that” to understand their perspective truly.

By remaining present, you may learn something about them that you didn’t know or see the situation from a different angle. If they see that you’re switched on and engaged with them, they’re more likely to do the same for you.

Determine what will happen next

Regardless of how the conversation went, leaders should always send a follow-up email summarizing the discussion and listing any action items for agreed-upon next steps.

Reiterating what was discussed while it’s still fresh in your and the employee’s mind provides the following:

Documentation of what was said and a reference point that can be revisited in future
Confirmation that both parties were heard – if the summary is sent and the employee sees something that doesn’t align with their takeaways, they have the opportunity for clarification.
Guideline for expected outcomes

Don’t limit your conversations to corrective ones

Emotionally intelligent leaders use their EQ to stay in tune with their employees’ feelings and needs. They understand what motivates them and how they can be most productive. The more you talk to your team, the better you’ll know what they need to succeed.

With an established rapport, leaders can identify areas of struggle before they become performance issues. In addition, when delivering corrective feedback, a positive connection between leader and employee will likely guide feedback to be more positively received.

Why Master Difficult Conversations?

Leaders have to have difficult conversations from time to time, but successful leaders make them a priority. Difficult conversations are never easy, but they’re necessary given the complex environments leaders are immersed in.

Being effective at having difficult conversations isn’t learned overnight. Still, difficult conversation skills can be leveraged by creating a balance of power where both parties feel represented.

Outstanding leadership is all about communication; the better leaders can communicate with their team, the stronger the team will be.

To explore your leadership style further and empower yourself as a leader, check out our Whole Person Leadership Cohort.

Stay Curious!

3 Ways to Develop an Intentional Approach to Leadership

October 17, 2024/0 Comments/in Communication, Human Skills, Leadership/by Angela MacCabe

What is Intentional Leadership?

Good leaders care about the people they lead. They make sure their teams are clear on goals and objectives and that they are empowered and aligned with the organization’s overall direction.

Intentional leadership is effective in the workplace because it empowers teams with the knowledge and tools they need to meet objectives. When everybody is confident in their role and understands their contribution’s impact on the big picture, it sets leaders and teams up for success.

Why is Intentional Leadership important?

Lack of intention in leadership can cause harm to teams and affect confidence and motivation. Without clear direction, teams can become confused and frustrated, which can negatively impact organizational outcomes.

3 Ways to Develop an Intentional Approach to Leadership + Bonus Leadership Self-awareness Checklist(s)

1. Prioritize Personal-development

We’ve all heard the saying: “Leaders are made, not born.” But what does that mean?

Leadership is a skill, not a talent. It’s one thing to have a natural ability to lead, but empowering yourself through continued learning helps leaders guide and inspire others to show up too.

What does it take to be an effective leader? First and foremost, you must be committed to your own personal development. A leader who knows that there is always more to learn and improve upon will be able to help others grow as well.

Personal-development Checklist:

Do you know your leadership style?
Do you understand the different leadership styles and how they can be adopted for different scenarios?
Are you communicating clearly and effectively
Are you a self-aware leader?

2. Build Trust

Leading with intention requires leaders to help their teams discover the answers for themselves. Sometimes as a leader, it’s essential to get out of the way – this may seem hard at first!

You might be worried about losing control over what happens next, but this is where leading with intention comes in: Instead of telling your team what to do, ask them what they think is the best course of action. Encourage them to come up with their own solutions. Don’t make decisions for them—instead, guide them to figure it out independently.

It takes practice to let go of your ideas and suggestions. But when it works, it’s beautiful. Teams feel empowered, which motivates and builds trust because they can see their contributions are valued.

Fostering Trust Checklist:

Acknowledging your shortcomings (I’m human too)
Having your team’s back
Proving space for your team to be heard
Being proactive vs. reactive
Leaving ego at the door when communicating/collaborating
Leading with empathy over judgment

3. Engage and Show Interest

Good leaders know the value of taking an interest in their teams.

Team connection is about more than status reports and delegation. Taking an interest in your team members individually helps you understand their talents, motivations, and goals and can build respect between you and them. Respect is a huge motivator for both parties and can be huge for productivity!

This is especially true for employees who are not just seeking a salary but also fulfillment and job satisfaction.

Fostering Engagement Checklist:

Understanding the needs of your team
Asking questions/staying curious
Carving out time for routine check-in’s with team members
Identify/acknowledging your team members working styles
- Who likes to work fast and requires communication that is direct?
- Who is more methodical and needs time to understand and plan before starting a task.

On the surface intentional leadership seems simple: It’s creating a plan and effectively communicating it to a team of people to execute. However from the leadership lens intentional leadership is much more nuanced than that. It’s actually a layering of hard and soft skills that require training and development, and well…the intention to do so.

Are you interested in developing your skills to become an intentional/human-centric leader? Check out our Whole Person Leadership Cohort info page to learn more.