4 reasons why empathy is crucial in managing people

Being a leader requires a number of specific traits. One of them is great communication skills, and closely related to that is the ability to empathize with others. A manager that lacks empathy is not capable of communicating effectively with team members, they are not open to new ideas and they cannot sufficiently motivate their team. Henry Ford once said: „If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own." That's why in today's article we will explain in four points why you will not get far in a management role without empathy.

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Being sincerely interested in employees

According to the HubSpot company blog, employees must feel that their boss has a genuine interest in them. They want to know that their manager doesn't just see them as robots, but that he or she is interested in their development, mental state, motivation and overall satisfaction. The fact is that you can't really fake it. A manager has to be truly interested in their team members, and the only way to be really interested and to manifest this interest is to be empathetic.

Ability to deal with people on the same level

A team manager doesn't only deal with their team members, but also with company management and leaders of other teams and departments in the company. These negotiations, which are business negotiations in nature, also require empathy, i.e. the ability to empathize with the other person and get on the same wavelength. Only then is the manager able to get the best conditions for himself and the team.

Career development

Surveys repeatedly show that communication skills and empathy play a key role in the career development of every employee. In order to be able to get to a higher position (even to the role of a team manager), you must have good relationship with people who make the decisions. This is why you need to practice empathy in all that you do in the workplace.

Trust and productivity

It is through empathy, transparency and understanding that a manager is able to build a working environment which has a friendly and healthy atmosphere and which is based on mutual trust. It takes this kind of atmosphere  to allow team members work in peace, act on their ambitions and be productive.

 

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Article source HubSpot Blog - marketing and sales blog of the HubSpot company
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