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Gifting Empathy in the New Year: An Appeal to Workplace Scrooges

Gifting Empathy in the New Year: An Appeal to Workplace Scrooges

Gifting Empathy in the New Year: An Appeal to Workplace Scrooges

I like the 1984 adaptation of A Christmas Carol the best. While the film lacks the slick production quality of its younger siblings, the ’84 version is buoyed by George C. Scott’s prickly portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge. Ruthless, self-absorbed, and venomously protective of his assets and the company’s bottom line, Scrooge can’t see that he’s constantly steamrolling his earnest, faithful employee Bob Cratchit. Cratchit, lacking other employment options, takes the abuse.

How about a show of hands by all those who’ve worked for Scrooge?

Businessolver’s 2024 State of Workplace Empathy report found a twenty-three-point gap between employee’s and CEO’s perceptions of empathy in the other. [1] Digging deeper, the report notes that 63% of CEOs indicated that “it was hard for them to consistently demonstrate empathy” in the workplace. Another 37% told researchers that empathy had no place in the workplace whatsoever. [2]

I’ve often wondered why so many in leadership run from empathy. Do they equate empathy with weakness? Do they view it as some sort of hierarchical boundary akin to “getting too close” to employees? Is it just an issue of time? Here’s one thing we do know: the proliferation of AI technologies and processes in our organizations – uber automation – makes empathetic leadership more essential than ever. Melissa Swift, who penned the helpful title Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace, believes that a human touch from leadership goes a long way toward easing the fears of workers afraid of losing out to AI. Swift writes, “As technology does more and more, we’re barreling toward a world where behaviors like empathy become the only thing that matters. [3]” Pip Russell, the strategy guru at Schneider Electric, doubles down on Swift’s comment, adding, “We need people in our workplace who can connect with others, who display empathy and understanding, (and) who understand emotions. [4]” For Russell and others building a corporate strategy around the emotional intelligence of leaders, empathy is now viewed as a core capability.

Gifting Empathy

So, how do we gift empathy through our leadership?

Let’s be honest with ourselves…many of us didn’t rise to positions of leadership because our empathy was off the charts. True or not, most of us are more likely to have words like “gritty, uncompromising, laser-focused” attached to our personas than “empathetic.” If this describes you, fear not…I evolved from my nickname as the “Iron Maiden” to “Turtle” (resilient exterior but soft on the inside); you can begin to gift empathy to your employees with an assist from AI. Many email services and writing software solutions provide empathy filters that can soften the tone of communication pieces. Consider this: how often have you received an all-caps email that left you pissed and perplexed? So, before you send a difficult digital message to your team, perhaps use an AI tool to see if the piece balances the tough news with a soft touch. While difficult messaging should never be downplayed to the point of dishonesty, it should always convey, “This sucks, but we’re in this together.”

Another terrific way to gift empathy to your people, especially when empathy is not among your core capabilities, is through the use of “listening circles.” While the concept is not new, it’s relatively novel for business use. Gather your team in a circle at least once a month (hybrid or virtual work) – maybe multiple circles if you’re managing a lot of folks – and give them license to share concerns, success stories, aspirations, and snippets from personal life. Yes, guidelines are vital in this setting. While you can create the specifics for your context, do not overlook the essentials: 1. Everyone’s voice is respected, 2. Vulnerability is valued and safeguarded; 3. The leader will be vulnerable, too. In this setting, you can facilitate an empathetic exchange even when you’re not especially gifted at being emotionally present for your employees.

A final gift for the new year? Look at number “3” above this sentence: The boss will be vulnerable, too. Ebenezer Scrooge provides us with a good case study on vulnerability. The turning point for Scrooge was not about being spooked by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Actually, the ghosts held the proverbial mirror to the miser’s face. Scrooge got in touch with his mortality and loneliness – his humanity – helping him see the humanity in Cratchit, Cratchit’s family, and the numerous faces navigating the streets of London. My point? Being honest with your people about your own concerns, aspirations, and personal challenges humanizes you. When the team sees you in an embodied way – the boss isn’t that different from us – they’ll storm the shores with you in pursuit of the organization’s mission and vision. More importantly, you will have the opportunity to care for your people when they need it.

Gift empathy, dear friends!

‘I don’t know what to do.,’ cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath and making a perfect Laocoon of himself with his stockings. `I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A Merry Christmas to everybody. A Happy New Year to all the world. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Gifting Empathy in the New Year: An Appeal to Workplace Scrooges

[1] Extracted from: https://www.businessolver.com/workplace-empathy/

[2] Extracted from: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2024/12/09/empathy-as-a-workplace-superpower/

[3] Extracted from: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2024/12/09/empathy-as-a-workplace-superpower/

[4] Extracted from: https://www.capgemini.com/gb-en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/10/Digital-Report-%E2%80%93-Emotional-Intelligence.pdf