We are always considered a great leaders in our schools or workplace. Whenever there is some team to lead, everyone agrees this person would be a great choice. Do you know what are the qualities that make a person be a great leader? A great leader is different from ordinary people. They have the ability to understand the teammate’s emotions and manage accordingly. Psychologists term this as Emotional Intelligence and believe that EI is more important than knowledge and technical skills.

This article will cover the fourth major component of emotional intelligence for great leaders.

What is empathy, a great leader?

Empathy is critical to emotional intelligence where the leader is able to understand how others are feeling but it involves more than just being able to recognize the emotional states of others. Empathy also involves the way of your respond to people based on the information. For example, when a person is sad and has low energy, how do you respond to them? You might treat them with extra care and concern, or you might make an effort to buoy their spirits.

The power of being an empathetic great leader allows you to have an often social relationship, especially in workplace settings. They also understand how these forces influence feelings and behaviors. Because of this, they can accurately interpret different situations that hinge on such power dynamics.

How can you improve your empathy?

• Put yourself in someone else’s position: It is always easy to support your point of you but take the time to look at the situations from other people’s perspectives. This will lead a great leader to understand their feelings and do not overburden them.
• Pay attention to body language: Perhaps when you listen to someone, you will have body movement. This body language tells others how you feel about a situation, and the message you’re giving isn’t positive! A piece of good knowledge and understanding of how to read body language can be a real benefit for a leadership role. This is because you be better able to determine how someone truly feels.

How to Build Empathy

• Be willing to share your feelings.
• Engage in a cause such as a community project.
• Listen to other people.
• Practice loving-kindness meditation.
• Talk to new people.
• Try to imagine yourself in someone else’s place.

To be effective, leaders must have a solid understanding of how their emotions and actions affect the people around them. The better a leader relates to and works with others, the more successful he or she will be. Take the time to work on empathy and working on these areas will help you excel in the future!

As an HR consulting organization, we at Alchemy Resources pay huge importance and have implemented these practices in our own workplace. We have conducted training programmes for employees as well as managers. At ARSB, we have designed our training intervention strategies using the given methods and have executed our training programme using Learning Management System (LMS) through both synchronous and asynchronous. Contact us at enquiries@alchemyconsultancy.asia to find out how we may work together to conduct a training programme to improve performances and achieve your company’s goals.