I feel you brother - Empathy doesn't need to be a mystery.
Empathy, I think, is one of those things that is easy to define and hard to employ. You can pretty easily find a consensus on what the word means - I'll even save you the trouble and Google it... It's the ability to make a connection to a feeling someone else is having about a situation, and being able to experience that same feeling yourself. It's hearing about a sick child at home, and feeling a little worried, scared, and sad yourself. It's hearing about a won lottery ticket, and feeling excitement yourself. As with anything worth doing - it can be harder to do than it sounds. It IS however, a critical skill to employ if you are truly interested in understanding what someone is trying to communicate to you. Forbes recently published a short article outlining some of the positive business outcomes when comparing companies whose employees reported that their leaders were empathetic vs those who didn't. Innovation . When people reported their leaders ...
