Leadership is a demanding yet rewarding responsibility. But no matter how long you may have been in a role of authority, there’s always still room to improve your interpersonal relationships and leadership skills. One of the best ways to do so is by becoming more mindful of how you respond to the emotions, needs and opinions of the people who work and live alongside you. In this blog, we’re explaining the importance of embracing empathy as a leader, as well as how our 360 Degree Review can help you understand how you are perceived by others and increase your self-awareness both at work and in your life overall.
Better Understandings Builds Cohesion
As a leader, it can be deceivingly easy to cast off the viewpoints or feelings of those around you and chalk it up to a person’s inexperience or lack of knowledge. But instead of brushing these moments aside, it’s often best to stop and make a concerted effort to understand where they are coming from. Embracing empathy in this way will not only help you develop as a leader and person, but also build better trust and relationships as you make others feel included and heard.
According to an article posted by Goodwin University, empathy is an “essential professional ability,” and practicing it as a leader can help increase cooperation between team members, lead to more collaboration and solidify a person’s commitment to a goal or task. But empathy goes beyond listening—you must also try to look at issues through the lens of other people to fully understand their point of view.
Don’t let empathy be a passive exercise—seek out opinions that are contrary to yours to build a more well-rounded view. Doing so will help you build relationships and environments over time that are more effective and meaningful.
Giombetti Associates’ 360 Degree Review
Embracing empathy as a leader begins with understanding your own personality traits and interpersonal skills as well as how you can build on them. Our 360 Degree Review can help you do that in two distinct ways.
As a participant of our 360 Review Process, you will take our trademarked Performance Dynamics® behavioral and personality assessment to elevate your self-awareness and provide insight into your characteristics, so you can maximize your untapped potential. You will also receive objective, 360 Degree feedback from your leaders, peers, direct reports and customers/vendors, which we share with you in a powerful feedback session.
To successfully improve yourself, and ultimately your life and work, it helps to understand how you are perceived by others, where your strengths lie, and areas where you can develop further.
To learn more about our Performance Dynamics® behavioral and personality assessment or our 360 Degree Review, contact us today.