Are You an Empathic Leader?

How different forms of empathy impact leadership.

It is important that leaders be empathic, but a leader must have the right kind and amount of empathy to be effective.

Psychologist Mark Davis38 has suggested that there are 3 important types of empathy. The first is a purely “cognitive” form of empathy that he terms “Perspective-Taking.” This is being able to see things from another’s point of view. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It is important to better understand where someone is coming from, but it’s not what we typically think of as empathy. We will discuss perspective-taking on another day.

A second type of empathy Davis terms “Personal Distress.” Personal distress is literally feeling another’s emotions. When you are watching a scary movie, and you start to empathize with the hero and feel afraid, that is personal distress in action. You are actually feeling the other’s emotion through a process called “emotional contagion.” The actor, or another person, is actually “infecting” you with their emotion. We all experience personal distress, but too much of it may not be a good thing. Some people are so prone to feeling other’s emotional states that they are battered about by the feelings and emotions of others (thus the label of “distress”).

An important form of empathy for leaders is what Davis calls Empathic Concern. This type is what we most often think about when we hear the term “empathy.” It is the ability to recognize another’s emotional state, feel in tune with that emotional state, and if it is a negative/distressful emotion, feel and show appropriate concern. A leader high in perspective-taking may be good at understanding others’ points of view, but may not get very involved in others’ emotions.

A leader high on personal distress will, as suggested, be prone to experience others’ emotional states, which has good and not-so-good aspects. Empathic concern is the dimension of empathy that is most important for leaders.

Tomorrow, we will assess the 3 forms of empathy and the implications for your leadership