What separates the good professionals from the great? Many might say hard work, focus, determination, resilience or vision. These are all great qualities, but for me, one trait stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Dismissed by many as an airy fairy soft skill, empathy is crucial for the success of you and your business. Much more than nice words and smiles, empathy is the ability to truly understand and share the feelings of another person.
Take a moment to think about the last time you dealt with someone in your professional or personal life who really didn’t care about you. Perhaps you bumped into an old friend or colleague who only talked about themselves, or fielded a call from a salesperson (or dare I say a recruiter) who spent 15 minutes talking about just how great their product or service is without taking the time to find out about you, your wants and needs. How did this make you feel? Do you want to see that person again of pursue a deeper relationship?
Now think of a time someone genuinely took an interest in you and sincerely cared about your wants and needs. Maybe you have a friend who’s a great listener, a leader in your company who deeply understands your goals or even bought from a shop assistant who took the time to really understand how they could help. How did this make you feel? Do you want to see this person again?
This is the power of empathy in action.
TRULY UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS
Businesses survive and thrive by solving problems. The more deeply we can understand our customers the more we’re able to help them and the more of their problems we can solve. Think of a great company whose offering you rave about to your friends. Chances are, they’ve taken the time to understand your wants and needs.
Not only does this deep understanding of your customers help your business to find and win great clients, it can prevent you wasting time on people who just won’t benefit from your offering. Understanding your customer on a deep level will guide every aspect of your business from product development through sales, marketing and even accounts. Empathy for your customers situation can also help your business develop a truly valuable offering and become increasingly aware of new opportunities and unearth valuable new income streams. Try asking yourself the questions – What do my customers really want? What motivates them? What do they struggle with? Why do they get up in the morning? What keeps them up at night? How else can we help?
BUILD A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE
Great workplace culture means so much more than a team building go kart race or after work drinks. The average person will spend as many as 90,000 hours at work making great company culture vital. Do employees truly understand and support each other and work together to achieve shared goals or is there friction and unhappiness in the workplace? Do employees feel that they can speak to their managers with any problems or suggestions they might have or do they feel stifled and ignored? Do their goals align with the business or are they left feeling undervalued? – This is company culture.
Whilst fun team building sessions may seem like a quick fix, the only true way of developing great culture is by deploying empathy. If you’re able to understand what makes your employees tick, why they’re happy and why they’re not you’re on the path to success. Happy employees work harder, are more productive and are less likely to leave for another role.
Empathy is the quickest way to resolve conflict in the workplace. By being able to understand and try on different points of view you can solve issues faster and help different teams pulling in the same direction instead of working against one another.
The great challenge with humans is that we’re all different. No two people have the same viewpoint, history, hopes and dreams. There’s no one size fits all approach to management and keeping people happy at work. The development of empathy and understanding of those around you is the most important thing you can do to ensure your success.
HOW TO DEVELOP GREATER EMPATHY
Almost everybody is capable of developing greater emotional intelligence and empathy. The simple act of setting an intention of being more empathetic will work wonders. Here’s 3 easily practised steps to help you develop more empathy.
- Cultivate an interest in others
People are fascinating. We all share the same world yet there is an almost infinite range of possible experiences and opinions. Everybody has a different and wholly valid viewpoint in life. Cultivate your curiosity and practise asking sincere questions – you’ll be amazed at just how interesting people can be.
- Listen
Active listening is a skill all in itself. Unfortunately many view listening as a chore before they have a chance to speak. Practise giving others your 100% undivided attention. Try to listen not just to the words that they say but how they say them, the emotion, intensity and cadence of the voice. Be as present and open minded as you possibly can. Not only will really listening give you a great insight into others views and opinions but will help make people feel valued and understood.
3.Walk a mile in another’s shoes.
We’ve all heard the expression – “You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” This evergreen quote is as true now as ever. Begin by asking yourself simple questions. How would I feel in the other person’s situation? What does the other person want or need? What are they afraid of? Are there any other factors at play? What is their goal?
This can also be a great exercise to write down when you’re struggling to understand a client or colleague. Write down all that you know about them and try to figure out the position they are coming from. Here it is good to challenge your own viewpoints, remember, our perspective is just that, one viewpoint on a bigger picture. The more you practise and aim to understand how others think and feel the stronger your empathy muscle will grow. With time, these practises will become second nature and you will find your dealings with others to be easier, more enjoyable and productive.
Give our team a call today and book your free consultation now.
Call 0800 246 1575 OR Email neil@hardysearch.co.uk