Empathy – the ‘E’ is for exceptionally enterprising environments
The world is waking up to the notion that the way we relate to each other at work, in our families and communities really does matter, which is good news for the increase of empathy in schools and business.
Neuroscience has proven that caring and responsive relationships during the foundation years, literally shapes our brains. When nurtured to care, we are naturally more adept at; kindness, decision making, cooperation and resilience. The emotional investment we make in our children shapes the world too because it’s EQ, not IQ that makes leaders outstanding. It’s empathy for the business that gets the best results.
These are the companies that retain the best people, and create environments where diverse teams thrive – Harvard review Empathy Index
Establishing an empathy culture in workplaces and schools is not easy. Situations arise that trigger extreme judgments and can, therefore, lead to a blame culture. That’s why I developed and love sharing my emotional intelligence workshops specifically designed for leaders in enterprises and schools
Someone shared with me recently, that the person she worked with, (who was also their line manager), had outbursts of anger and frequently hurled judgments about the way she worked. She regularly blamed her and other staff members for the business not performing in the way she wanted. This communication became intolerable for her to face. She loved her job, but she decided to leave because her need for self-care became stronger.
Do you wonder how empathy could help in a situation like the one mentioned in the example above?
Empathy shifts the focus from blame towards wanting to understand each other.
Empathic environments create space to appreciate each other’s views and values. People own their feelings, therefore, meaning viewpoints are easier to hear. It can help us tune into customers, children and client too.
NVC (empathic communication) can support us to connect with each other, to express our own truth boldly. This helps us to stay focused on the heart of the matter and communicate authentically in conversations, even when situations are highly charged and challenging.
American poet Robert Frost believed that;
Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence
Practices that empathic environments adopt
- Listen to understand
- Hear beyond judgments
- Respect other values
- Express appreciation
- Adopt an attitude of gratitude
- Know how to move forward with challenges and regrets
When the culture of blame, shame, threats, and domination is replaced with mindful curiosity, mutual understanding, respect, kindness, and trust, people, as a result, feel accepted and empowered to express themselves, consequently they shine. They want to share their unique strengths, use initiative and form a system that flows creativity, which to sum up, makes great business sense!
Universal needs are appreciated in decision-making processes when an empathy culture is born!
I recently worked as a consultant delivering multiple empathy training in L’Oreal, based on the ideas in The Empathy Factor business book and Nonviolent Communication. I’m confident in sharing with you that this training received high Business performance indicator ratings for indicators like increased employee engagement and retention and retail sales.
If your interested in speaking to me about how the empathy factor model and Nonviolent Communication can support your business, enterprise or school I’d love to hear from you
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