Empathy is a critical leadership skill. Learn how you can promote it at your workplace with Alton P. Hobbs Jr.

ATLANTA, GA, USA, July 22, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Empathetic leaders and managers are more progressive and capable of moving their organizations forward during good and challenging times. According to a Senior Environmental Consultant, Alton P. Hobbs Jr., applying empathy in the workplace goes beyond implementing traditional management strategies. He adds that empathetic leaders have the ability to understand the needs of others and are careful with their feelings and thoughts. If you're a team leader looking to learn more about empathetic leadership, here are the top tips by Alton P. Hobbs Jr. you may want to implement.

Be a Good Listener

A good communicator must be a good listener, says Alton P. Hobbs Jr. Any conversation you have, whether it's with the most senior employee or a subordinate in your team, creates an opportunity to forge good work relationships, encourages sharing of ideas, and builds rapport. Listening is not just about paying attention to the spoken words, but also about seeing what is not being said through body language, tone of voice, and other nonverbal cues. Remember, 93 percent of communication in a conversation is non-verbal. That means you are simply getting 7 percent of the message if you only listen to what is being spoken.

Connect with Your Team

Managers and leaders have a lot to do as they're in charge of strategic planning and management. It's so easy to get disconnected from your team in their everyday activities and lives. Now, if you don't spend more time with your employees, it might be quite difficult to know their interests, dreams, passions, hopes, and personal struggles, notes Alton P. Hobbs Jr. Always create time to connect with your team, be on the ground and find out the challenges they are facing, to understand their motivations and frustrations.

Create Open Communication

Communication is a powerful tool for any organization. When you create platforms for quick and easy communication, your employees are more engaged and feel happy to raise their opinions freely without getting judged or turned down. Open communication builds empathy in many ways, especially if you create counseling platforms to assist members with mental health problems and other challenges. When team members communicate with their employers and fellow employees, it's easier to share ideas, challenges, and solutions for the company. Ideally, you want your people to speak up whenever they see or experience a challenge, says Alton P. Hobbs Jr. Don't create an environment where your employees see trouble when you come to them.

Work on Your Biases

We are all biased, either conscious or unconscious. Whatever type you are, you need to work on it as soon as possible. Unconscious biases are worse because you never realize when you react or make biased decisions. Biases grow based on your upbringing and experience. While you cannot completely get rid of them, it's quite critical to remain alert, so they don't affect your decisions. Just train your mind not to question or hold a specific perception of a certain group of people.

Caroline Hunter
Web Presence, LLC
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