A Counterintuitive Leadership Skill That Drives Better Results

Leading with empathy can boost your team’s performance and well-being in a high-pressure world.

The pressure to deliver results can be intense.

Deadlines loom, targets must be met, and the bottom line is always top of mind.

In this context, empathy—the ability to understand and share another person's feelings—can seem like a nice-to-have rather than a must-have.

Many leaders worry that if they focus too much on their team’s emotions and well-being, they’ll lose sight of the ultimate goal: driving results.

But what if I told you that leading with empathy is not only compatible with a results-driven culture but essential to creating one?

By putting yourself in your team’s shoes and prioritizing their needs, you can unlock new levels of motivation, creativity, and performance.

Managers who show more empathy toward direct reports are viewed as better performers in their job by their bosses.

So how can you lead with empathy in a way that supports, rather than detracts from, your results-driven goals? Here are some…