People will follow you anywhere if they know how much you care about them. Putting them before yourself is key. Empathy is essential. We hurt when they hurt. We protect them. We care deeply about their well being and success. We are invested in their hopes and dreams and we do our best to reduce their fear and anxiety during difficult times. We love it when they win.

Here are my 3 all time favorite “I have zero empathy for those I lead” examples:

  1. The CEO does a major layoff of several hundred line level employees in the wake of a natural disaster which has hit their community during a time of record profits in the industry. The disaster had nothing to do with the finances of the company.

  2. A secretary works hard to earn her college degree while balancing work and family responsibilities. Instead of congratulating her, the boss only says, “I hope you don’t expect us to pay you more or give you anything more because of that.” The employer is an institution of higher education.

  3. A natural disaster strikes a community. Employees lose their homes. The CEO spends several minutes in front of those same employees expressing his concern about losing a piece of old furniture at the workplace which was the only property loss experienced by the employer during this disaster. He never once asks about them.

Every one of these CEOs was eventually fired or forced to resign. It’s not charisma. It’s not having the most years on the job although the right experience always helps. It’s not technical subject matter knowledge. It’s not the college degree. None of these explain long term successful leadership.

People have to trust you to follow you. It’s character. Leaders of character have a lot of empathy for those they lead. When people know you truly care about them, they will follow you anywhere.

#LeadershipLessonsWithDrSaviak

From the Teacher: Leadership Lessons with Dr. Saviak is a weekly column with the esteemed Joseph C. Saviak, Ph.D., J.D., M.A., M.S., Management Consulting & Leadership Training.

 

Featured Image: Forbes.com

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