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Daily Leadership Thought #66 – Empathy Matters

December 8, 2010

Free Crop woman tapping shoulder and comforting upset female friend while sitting at home together Stock Photo

Empathy matters.  Life can be difficult at times.  Whether it is business related or not, the people around you need to know you care about them.  This doesn’t mean you have to step out of character or assume a new personality, but instead find your own way to let them know you appreciate what they are going through.  Your actions can be subtle or more direct.  The more important thing is that the emotional support genuinely represents who you are.

It also doesn’t matter what you think regarding the relative significance of an event or struggleIndividual experience will always begin as subjective.  One person’s mountain is another’s mole hill.  Life is simply harder for some people and it’s best to accept rather than resist this reality.  However, empathy doesn’t mean enabling a victim or “woe is me” mentality.  It means, “I care about you and what you are going through.”  In the end we are all taking this journey of human existence together and accepting our common humanity makes the ride less bumpy…