Читать книгу Leading with Empathy - Gautham Pallapa - Страница 28

Simon Sinek transformed how leaders can inspire people to take action through his influential book, Start with Why. He has been a great inspiration to me. As a tribute to his influence on my personal thinking, I have espoused his powerful idea, The Golden Circle, to inspire and motivate humanity in these adverse times. Leading with Empathy is a call to action for becoming empathic leaders in a world that has suffered so much strife and misery.

In the first part of the book, I explore why humanity has undergone so much adversity in recent times. I start with the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and events since 2020. While it can be traumatic and painful to some, this first step of acknowledging why there is so much suffering in recent times is vital to our leadership transformation. I examine the impacts of COVID-19, unemployment, Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and the economic downturn. These topics could trigger bouts of pain, anxiety, suffering, loss, and sadness in many of us who have undergone adverse episodes, especially over the last year. My intent is not to generate pain; instead, it provides visibility to human suffering, and I profusely apologize in advance if these topics invoke pain for you. I dedicate a chapter to stress and anxiety, proffering insight into why the pain and suffering have impacted us profoundly in recent times. Part 1 is aptly called Adversity.

Figure 1.1 How this book is structured.

Part 2 of the book helps us understand how empathy has emerged as a panacea to combat the anguish and suffering that the world has undergone. I examine how elevated stress levels and anxiety affect us physically, mentally, and emotionally and how we can overcome the impact of stress and anxiety in our lives. I then discuss emotional intelligence and empathy. We take an in-depth look at the types of empathy, benefits, and impediments to empathy and how we can enable empathy in people.

I then present how empathic leadership can empower humanity in the face of adversity. I provide anecdotes, stories, and personal musings throughout the book to underscore the topics discussed and grant visibility to the suffering around us and how people have stepped up and led with empathy. I also share exercises and tips to reduce stress and anxiety and improve happiness and positivity.

The third part of the book is all about empowerment and what actions and steps we as empathic leaders can embrace and initiate to enable the workforce, people around us, and our loved ones in these challenging times. Empathy in organizations has been a passionate topic for me. One of my two primary beliefs is that happy people are productive people. I firmly subscribe to the idea that people will be happy when they are a psychologically safe and work in a positive organizational culture that nurtures trust, collaboration, and innovation that embraces failure. This necessitates enterprise and employee empathy. I examine what steps empathic leaders should take to promote empathy in the workplace, especially for a remote workforce—a relevant topic right now.

Throughout this book, I have tried to refrain from using many of the cliches that have become mainstream over the last few years. However, there are occasions where I might have inadvertently succumbed to parroting them. I highly encourage you to chuckle at those instances and either substitute the phrase with your choice of cliche or roll your eyes and let out a deep sigh. Shake your head sagely if you are reading the book in a public setting for extra effect. Feel free to even tweet about it with #empathicleadership or #leadwithempathy and express what went through your mind when you encountered the cliche. I look forward to reading those gems on my Twitter feed.

Leading with Empathy is intended to help people relate to their personal experiences as we explore various topics throughout the book. It is a call to action for people to lead with empathy. I have included exercises, tips, and activities to promote empathic leadership, reflection, and introspection and ways to start the dialogue about empathy and its dire need today. Each chapter also ends with a few points for reflection and introspection. I encourage you to use these not only for your personal growth but also as conversation starters with your fellow leaders. You don't have to wait until Part 3 to take action.

Together, we can lead with empathy and strive to elevate humanity in the face of adversity.