Empathy is a communication superpower that makes every relationship in life easier and more awesome.
When we can be present with others’ emotions – without immediately offering unsolicited advice – it transforms relationships. Professional and personal relationships benefit tremendously from improved empathy skills.
Empathy is the antidote to burnout. We often feel overwhelmed when we don’t feel seen, heard, and understood about the challenges we face. Wellbeing, creativity, and harmonious relationships thrive when empathy is present in micro-cultures (like within friendship groups, families, and workplaces).
4 Secrets To Being A More Empathetic Leader 1. Empathy is developed, not inherited. Our genes can be highly deterministic. They influence everything from our intellectual ability and tendency toward mental illness to our hair color and height. However, when it comes to empathy and understanding, our genetic inheritance takes a distant third place to associative learning and individual upbringing. Simply put, empathy is developed, not inherited. It is not something we are born with (or without); rather, it is something we develop (or neglect).
by Shalini Bahl-Milne: What gets in the way: The empathy trap Empathy, a powerful force for good, is a double-edged sword. When we empathize with those we identify with, we risk overlooking or even demonizing those who hold opposing perspectives.
Psychologist Paul Bloom warns that empathy is limited and biased. It spotlights the pain of one group while leaving others unseen. It risks “us vs. them” thinking and simplistic solutions in a well-meaning attempt to ease suffering.
This dynamic was evident at the recent meeting. Those empathizing with Palestinians saw the resolution as an urgent moral act to halt civilian deaths. Others, aware of Israelis’ security fears, felt the resolution ignored their legitimate concerns. Attempts to broaden the discussion were met with fierce resistance.
Author: Constanze Drewlo Children as young as 18 months display empathic concern towards others, marking a significant milestone in early emotional and cognitive development. The research found that children’s capacity for empathic concern grows in environments where caregivers respond sensitively to their needs, highlighting the importance of social interactions in acquiring empathy.
Furthermore, empathic concern, crucial for prosocial behavior, is shown to be a learned trait rather than innate, with developmental psychology suggesting that emotional contagion in infants is a precursor to understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
In the first finding of its kind, University of Virginia researchers have discovered that empathy is passed from one generation to the next. And it all starts with moms.
“What we found was that mothers’ empathy for their teens at age 13 predicted that teen’s empathy for their friends across the adolescent years,” lead author Jessica Stern, a developmental psychologist, said. “Then, that ability to show empathy toward your friends when you’re a teenager predicts that you’ll be a more supportive parent much later on in adulthood.”
Stern said empathy is “really important for all sorts of social relationships.”
In the first finding of its kind, University of Virginia researchers have discovered that empathy is passed from one generation to the next. And it all starts with moms.
“What we found was that mothers’ empathy for their teens at age 13 predicted that teen’s empathy for their friends across the adolescent years,” lead author Jessica Stern, a developmental psychologist, said. “Then, that ability to show empathy toward your friends when you’re a teenager predicts that you’ll be a more supportive parent much later on in adulthood.”
Stern said empathy is “really important for all sorts of social relationships.”
by Soulaima Gourani As leaders, we must embrace this shift towards empathetic leadership to meet the evolving needs of our teams and organizations.
Empathic leadership isn't just a bonus—it's a necessity. Employees are no longer satisfied with distant, detached bosses; they yearn for leaders who understand and share their feelings.
However, this demand for empathy can be a double-edged sword for managers.
"I feel like I'm never enough," confessed one Fortune 100 executive, expressing the common sentiment that any team setback feels like a personal failure.
Background Effective communication is the key to a successful relationship between doctors and their patients. Empathy facilitates effective communication, but physicians vary in their ability to empathize with patients. Listening styles are a potential source of this difference. We aimed to assess empathy and listening styles among medical students and whether students with certain listening styles are more empathetic.
Building Structures for Understanding A core theme was the need for brands to genuinely understand the perspectives, challenges, and emotions of the people they serve.
As Jade Kearney, Co-Founder and CEO of She Matters, stated, “To be an empathetic brand, you have to have some relationship to your company, to what you’re doing and to the impact that you’re creating.”
Without that genuine understanding and connection, it becomes difficult to truly empathize with your customers. Kearney emphasized listening intently to directly grasp the pain points and unmet needs of those brands serve.
What is empathy fatigue? Empathy fatigue occurs when we relate too much to the suffering of others, causing us to feel overwhelmed and burned out. Our relationships can be affected, too. In a small 2020 study of people with high empathy, researchers found that the trait “presented as significantly impacting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes sometimes for benefit within both the professional and personal realms but often with negative impact.”
The problem isn’t necessarily that we have too much empathy, but the way we’re expressing it is a type of “overwork,” says Matt Lundquist, psychotherapist and the founder and clinical director of Tribeca Therapy. If a friend is going through something difficult, that overexpression of empathy might make us think, “I ought to feel all of the intensity of this excruciating experience along with them,” says Lundquist.
The Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab studies the affective and motivational mechanisms involved in empathy and moral decision-making. The lab utilizes insights and methodologies from affective science, social cognition, and moral philosophy, in order to understand how people think about and respond to pressing social and ethical situations. Primary Contact: Daryl Cameron Group Website: https://emplab.la.psu.edu
Frans de Waal was just starting his career in primate research in the mid-1970s when he watched a male chimpanzee aggressively confront another at a zoo enclosure in the Netherlands. Awhile later, the chimp calmed down and held his palm up, a gesture of reconciliation. The two chimps hugged.
The moment sparked a lifetime exploration, probing the inner lives of chimps, apes and other species for evidence of empathy, morality and sentient awareness — traits long assumed to exist at high levels only in humans. In other words, Dr. de Waal often said, we are not so special.
Early Signs of Empathy: Children exhibit signs of empathic concern by 18 months, responding to others’ distress with appropriate facial expressions, gestures, or vocalizations.
Role of Caregivers: The sensitivity of caregivers significantly influences the development of empathic concern in children, underscoring empathy as a socially acquired skill. Importance for Prosocial Behavior: Empathic concern is vital for the development of prosocial behaviors, motivating children to care for others in distress.
Early Signs of Empathy: Children exhibit signs of empathic concern by 18 months, responding to others’ distress with appropriate facial expressions, gestures, or vocalizations.
Role of Caregivers: The sensitivity of caregivers significantly influences the development of empathic concern in children, underscoring empathy as a socially acquired skill.
Importance for Prosocial Behavior: Empathic concern is vital for the development of prosocial behaviors, motivating children to care for others in distress.
Respecting each individual’s humanity has become a cornerstone of Pratt’s advocacy. “The migrants are human. Treating them like humans is different from what we Americans think,” he said. “It’s about empathy, not sympathy.”
This year’s conference theme was “Empathy: What Does it Mean to Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes in America?” The day-long event featured discussions of empathy in various forms, such as an academic paper panel, creative fiction reading and a roundtable about the importance of empathy in education.
“We felt that empathy was a particularly timely theme. It’s an election year. We as a country are in a very polarized spot,” Ross said. “[Empathy] is a lot more complicated than it’s often portrayed as… but it kind of comes with a lot of baggage that doesn’t get talked about as much. So this is also a space to talk about that.”
Inspired by her parent’s work with the elderly, Mrs Feil followed them in their footsteps. After graduating with a Masters degree in Social Work, the people she grew up with in Ohio became the people she worked both for and with.
Dr. Helen Riess is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Empathy Research and Training in the Psychotherapy Research Group at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Empathetics, a company that provides science-based empathy and interpersonal skills training for healthcare professionals. Her research focuses on improving empathy and relational skills in physicians.
Don’t get me wrong, I love empathy. In fact, not having full empathy is the hallmark of the toxic personality. It’s a healthy way we relate to other humans. Most people have both affective, or “felt” empathy, in addition to “understanding,” or cognitive empathy. Narcissists and their ilk generally only have cognitive empathy, if they have any at all.
Elevating Team Dynamics with Empathy Empathy within leadership extends far beyond mere understanding; it actively shapes and elevates team dynamics, fostering a workspace where collaboration and mutual respect flourish. Dr. Bharucha keenly observes that Nadella’s empathetic approach has significantly improved Microsoft’s internal relationships, creating a harmonious work environment where each member feels genuinely supported and empowered to take initiative.
This nurturing atmosphere has led to increased productivity and a more cohesive team spirit, proving that when leaders treat empathy as a foundational value, they lay the groundwork for a more dynamic and engaged workforce. Moreover, Dr. Bharucha appreciates how this focus on empathy encourages diversity of thought, allowing for a richer tapestry of ideas and solutions that propel the company forward in innovative ways.
Following a national search, William Mobley, MD, PhD, has been appointed director of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion at University of California San Diego, effective January 1, 2024.
Dr. Mobley, who served as interim director of the institute since its founding in 2019, brings decades of experience to this newly appointed role. He is a board-certified neurologist who cares for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders, and currently serves as Associate Dean of Neurosciences Initiatives and Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and Executive Director of UC San Diego’s Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment.
Empathy – a company changing the way the world deals with grief and loss – announced a $47 million Series B round led by Index Ventures with participation from General Catalyst, Entrée Capital, Latitude, and Brewer Lane, along with strategic investments from major life insurance carriers Allianz, MassMutual Ventures, MetLife, New York Life Ventures, Securian Financial, and Sumitomo. This funding round raised Empathy’s total funding to $90 million.
Over the past three years, Empathy has created a full range of assistance with grief, estate settlement, and probate, and it is available to 5 million employees and 35 million policyholders nationwide. This support is provided at no cost to families and is available either through their life insurance benefits or with bereavement leave through an employer. The Series B funding round will be used to expand Empathy’s services and cover new industries and regions nationwide.
When it comes to personalities we hope to avoid, those with narcissistic tendencies are well and truly up there.
In fact, most of us probably assume finding ourselves attached to a narcissist is one of the worst things that could happen to us. We've all heard the horror stories.
Conversely, an empathetic person is someone we might be drawn to. Who wouldn't want to spend time with someone who can truly understand and relate to our experiences and feelings?
Well, turns out, empaths aren't all created equal. Enter, the dark empath.
The Rock Ethics Institute's Expanding Empathy Speaker Series returns for its sixth consecutive year starting Tuesday, March 19.
Organized under the leadership of Daryl Cameron, who is Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute, associate professor of psychology, director of the Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and senior research associate in the Rock Ethics Institute, Expanding Empathy is an international, interdisciplinary examination of empathy and moral decision-making processes.
This will be the first year that the series is hosted through the new Consortium on Moral Decision-Making, with joint sponsorship through the Rock Ethics Institute, College of the Liberal Arts, Social Science Research Institute, the McCourtney Institute for Democracy and Department of Philosophy, with additional promotional support from the Department of Psychology.
The primatologist Frans de Waal, who explored empathy and emotion in bonobos and chimps, died last week at 75. His colleague Sarah Brosnan remembers his legacy as both a scientist and friend.
Discover the power of global collaboration and networking at the Virtual School Australia Global Empathy Conferences. Connect with peers & gain new insights.
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