Do empaths make good leaders? (A Complete Guide)

In this article, we will discuss ‘Do empaths make good leaders?’. We will discuss an empathetic leader,  reasons how empathy makes good leaders, and how empathy can act against good leadership.

Do empaths make good leaders? 

Yes, it is possible that empaths make good leaders because empathy is an important part of leadership skills. Such people can relate to their employees and carry their burdens with them. Their self-awareness also adds to their efficiency as a leader, assists them in reading their environment and adapting to it accordingly. 

Although there are many advantages of an empathetic leader, empathy can also act as a disadvantage. It can effect decision-making, make narrowing down multiple perspectives difficult, contribute to burnout, and hamper diversity. It is important that an empathetic leader learns to create balance in empathy at their workplace and establish boundaries where needed.

An empathetic leader

 Ab empathetic leader is someone who can understand things from the perspective of their subordinates. They are willing to step back from their own view and take steps to solve different situations. Empathetic leaders not only try to relate to their workers but also to see things from their perception. They give their best effort to make the workplace a comfortable environment. They also try to help their subordinates feel at ease and help them grow in their professional journey.

 They assist their employees to develop their skills and give them room to learn. They also understand the idea that perfection is not a realistic goal. So instead of penalizing an employee due to their mistakes or shortcomings, these people help them overcome their weaknesses.

“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.” -Jim Rohn

Being empathetic does not mean that one tries to please their workers. There needs to be a balance between discipline and warmth at the workplace. Being empathetic means you make the people that work under you feel good and comfortable at their job.

Empaths and Leadership

 Now the question arises whether empaths can make good leaders. There is no doubt that empathy is an important skill of leadership that helps one to encourage others.

These reasons include the following:

They strive for improvement

Whenever an empath is faced with a certain situation their first priority is to make it better. They do not accept things the way they are. Rather, they put in their best efforts and energy to improve things. This can include working on improving their relationships and providing encouragement and support to others in order to help them perform better. They do not just take, instead, they are givers who ensure they leave their mark on the world.

They can share the burdens of others as leaders

Empaths know the importance of assisting others while moving towards success. They try to help their employees and share their burdens and workload. This is because they know that success cannot be achieved alone rather it is done by cooperation with your team. They continue to push towards their goal along with their employees.

They face and deal with challenges head-on.

A good leader has great insight into their abilities, their skills, and their limits. They also know how and when their employees can work their best. Being an empathetic leader gives one the advantage of self-awareness. It helps them make good decisions especially regarding how to tackle different challenges and ensure success while keeping the strengths and weaknesses of their employees in mind.

Empathetic leaders have good skills in relationships

Past studies show that empathy has a strong link with being able to establish good relationships. An empathetic leader possesses the same ability. In their professional life, they might not be highly extrovert, but they can connect well with their workers as well as supervisors. This ability to establish good working relationships makes them good candidates for success especially when they have to make business deals.

They can adapt to different situations

Empathetic leaders know how to modify themselves according to their environment. They can use their skills of observation to understand how their environment functions and the demands being made of them. Accordingly, they make modifications to adjust. Their flexibility in their professional life helps them move towards success.

They can influence others

It is important for a leader to be able to have an impact on others. Empathetic leaders are able to connect with their employees and influence them in a positive way. Accordingly, their subordinates see them in a different light and work their best to fulfill their expectations.

They do not discriminate

Empathy is open to working with diversity. They are not concerned about how people are different. Rather, they are tolerant of differences and accept people for who they are. They also understand that discrimination and prejudice are not healthy for their workplace. They try to establish a work environment that is open to welcoming all types of people. They value the skills and talent of people first rather than focusing on their demographics. They use diversity to create opportunities and come up with original solutions.

They are future-oriented

Empathetic leaders are always focused on how to make their tomorrow better than today. They take action to improve their present and future. They plan out what they want to accomplish and how to do that. Accordingly, they try to work at a good pace. They prioritize the growth and improvement of their business. In other words, they want to change things for the better and work up to establish themselves with time.

They can break barriers

Empathetic leaders can tackle barriers. They try to meet deadlines and reach milestones even in the face of setbacks. They have good skills and know how to reach out to people who are difficult. They are expressive with their thoughts and can resolve disagreements in a cordial manner. They understand the importance of moving forward even when faced with difficulties and challenges.

They can manage success

A lot of people cannot handle the pressure of initial success. However, empaths are good with managing success. This is because they stay humble and down to earth even after having many accomplishments. They strive towards improvement and further growth. So their success is able to maintain and grow with time rather than coming to a halt.

The dangers of being an empathetic leader

Although empathy is a sign of good leadership, sometimes it can act as a disadvantage. Empathy can often distort judgment. This is because empathy triggers the tendency to be altruistic which can lead to subjective judgment in empaths. Since such people face difficulty in separating their emotions from their work, they can often make unwise decisions.

Empathy also hampers diversity. Although empathic people are inclusive and accepting of diversity, sometimes they can unconsciously create differences. Human beings have a tendency to be more empathetic to people who are similar to them. In the same way, empathetic leaders unconsciously empathize with colleagues who share similarities with them. So they allot to people assignments and positions who are like them, but they do this unknowingly. It can create problems for the organization. 

Another way empathy works against leaders is that it makes it difficult to navigate the multiple perspectives of people and their concerns. It can also add to their distress after hearing the concerns of so many people.

Thus, it is important that empathetic leaders learn to balance their empathy in their work and try to be more objective. They also need to learn to establish boundaries with their employees in order to work more effectively.

FAQs: Do empaths make good leaders?

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed Do empaths make good leaders?. We found that it is possible that empaths make good Leaders because empathy is an important part of leadership skills. Such people can relate to their employees and carry their burdens with them. Their self-awareness also adds to their efficiency as a leader, assists them in reading their environment and adapting to it accordingly. 

Although there are many advantages of an empathetic leader, empathy can also act as a disadvantage. It can affect decision making, make narrowing down multiple perspectives difficult, contribute to burnout, and hamper diversity. It is important that an empathetic leader learns to create balance in empathy at their workplace and establish boundaries where needed.

 I hope you found this article interesting. If you have any queries or comments, please state them in the comment section 😊

Citations

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/311413

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-reasons-empaths-are-great-leaders.html