Empathy is the next big global currency

Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Empathy can’t be outsourced or automated, but it can make the world a better place.

D. Coleman wrote, “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand; if you don’t have self-awareness; if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions; if you can’t have empathy and effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”

Ancient Greeks glorified it

Ancient Greeks have had empathy in the centre of their attention, distinguishing those who had a respectful attitude towards fellow citizens. Empathy (’em-patheia” – meaning with passion). You can say, OK, but what’s in it for us?

It is more than “nice to have” today

[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Empathy today is a prerequisite in the business world and for the civil society[/inlinetweet]. More or less, all companies are witnessing a devastating Change. It’s not only the digital and industry transformation but people, habits, rituals, context all being in transition. In turn, they search for people with empathy, and emotional intelligence.

Of course, we have to admit, that corporations, on the other hand, have broken on their brand and workplace promises, so even the empathetic employees are feeling awkward, or even close to distrust.

It is crucial to have

Being empathetic means you can guide, navigate and coordinate teams and belief sets. It’s critical for how we communicate, and a very distinctive personality trait. It shows. It speaks louder than words. It’s in the look, in a smile, at a hand-shake.

It becomes even more crucial today, since around us haters and hecklers, or people who lost faith in the value systems have become negative in every instance and opportunity. If you don’t own it, you can be part of the chaotic crowd.

Without it, you’re not capable to recruit, manage, evaluate, talk and bridge sentiments. You can’t lead as first among equals.

Are we getting educated for Empathy?

No, still we are being raised for “ego”, power and status. “Study X, to achieve Y.”, “You’re better than she is.”, “Be an achiever, no matter what.” There’s no balance in raising the soft skill of Empathy in school, university, or at work.

Don’t read the bullshit of influencers and thought-leaders and the ‘chic’ empowering posts or the coaching hype. Many people either have remorse on the “system” we’ve raised, or others make their living from the hard obstacles of transition waves.

Our value system is not raising empathetic, kind, tolerant people. Whoever gets a bit of power, exercises it in a punitive form on others. I’ve managed more than 850 people in the last 12 years and I can tell you that only a 2% were people ‘programmed’ to go hand-in-hand to achieve projects of excellence.