Strategic Empathy: Transforming Executive Decision-Making Through Deep Employee Understanding

Effective decision-making is about far more than understanding a business and its industry. Every organization is ultimately the product of its employees, so leaders must understand them and know how to help them achieve their best to succeed. For this reason, one of the most important qualities for an executive is one that may fly under the radar — empathy.

The Strategic Benefits of Empathetic Leadership

Understanding and caring for workers’ needs and concerns is key to running a productive business. Those at unempathetic workplaces are twice as likely to feel disconnected from leadership, report 1.3 times higher mental health challenges and are 1.5 times more likely to change jobs in the next six months.

Turnover aside, those who do stay are unlikely to produce their best work if they feel uncomfortable or disrespected. High mental health strain will hinder accuracy and productivity, and feelings of disconnection stand in the way of collaboration. However, if unempathetic leadership can have such dire results, empathetic leaders can foster the opposite.

Empathetic leadership has decision-making benefits as well. A separate survey found 86% of workers who feel mutual empathy with their leaders report increased idea-sharing, and 85% said it led to greater innovation. Empathy spurs deeper communication and eases collaboration, leading to more insightful decision-making and strategizing.

How to Cultivate Empathy from the Top Down

The benefits of empathetic leadership are clear, but how to embody it may be less so. Personal ideas of what feels genuine may vary, but executives can cultivate workplace empathy through a few key practices.

Survey Employees

The first step toward being a more empathetic leader is learning what matters to the workforce. Staff surveys are a good initial measure. Ask people to submit anonymous feedback about what they think could improve in the workplace and what works well.

Less formal feedback is also vital. Engage with employees in between tasks and while entering and leaving the building. Ask about their personal lives, goals and concerns, whether business-related or not. Remember to employ active listening techniques, as they help speakers feel heard and develop trust between parties.

Address Employees’ Biggest Concerns

Empathy is about more than knowing what matters to people. It also means caring for the things they care about. Leaders are uniquely situated to provide what teams need to overcome or address their biggest stressors, and going the extra mile in this regard will build mutual empathy.

Take the initiative to care for workers’ concerns, even when they are not directly business-related. For example, 29% of Americans have “unmanageable” debt, leading to mental health concerns and high stress. Empathetic leaders may respond by communicating openly about these worries despite the taboo, talking with staff to ensure they have sufficient benefits and compensation and providing access to financial wellness resources.

Watch for Warning Signs

Genuine empathy also means not always taking direct communication at face value. Some people may have deep concerns but do not voice them out of fear of causing a stir or a belief that speaking up won’t change anything. After all, 95% of cybersecurity teams say the field’s persistent burnout problem hasn’t improved in years.

Executives should watch for signs of stress and worry to find opportunities to show empathy. Behavioral changes and declining productivity may signify a larger issue that deserves attention from the top down. Recognizing these and asking employees how they may need assistance before they speak up shows initiative and care.

Foster Diversity

Empathetic leaders foster and celebrate diversity within the workplace. Seek to hire experts from diverse backgrounds and ensure leadership teams reflect the same diversity. Encourage open communication about cultural differences and expectations to enable healthy conversations and ensure all feel seen and respected.

A more diverse workplace where people of varying backgrounds feel comfortable speaking up will lead to increased productivity and improved decision-making. Companies with gender and ethnic diversity in executive teams are significantly more likely to outperform those without it financially. A diverse leadership team will also be able to connect and empathize with a broader workforce.

Effective Leadership Is Incomplete Without Empathy

The best businesses help their staff reach their full potential and capitalize on a variety of viewpoints. Achieving such results is only possible with empathetic leadership. Following these steps to develop empathy within the workplace today will lead to better strategic decision-making tomorrow.