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I want to talk for a moment about how important it is to show empathy as a leader. I’ll use a few personal examples. 1 - my child was born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery at 9 days old. Leave policies weren’t great at that time ... but 1/
The empathy and understanding shown by my leadership team was something I never forgot, and I stayed with them - even through some tough times - because of their actions. 2 - fast forward to the year my husband had a heart attack and my mother died not long after. 2/
Different leadership team, but similar experience. Support, empathy, concern. Things I hadn’t expected, and - once again - I responded by staying with this team through some really tough times. 3/
I contrast this with a period where I lost a close family member, my daughter had serious complications from surgery, I lost a friend and another family member - all within six months. The lack of empathy, care & understanding during this period led me to exit a great job 4/
And final example - a good friend who was experiencing something quite serious with their child. I suggested they take some time off to manage it. They said their leader wasn’t empathetic. And I wasn’t shocked (sadly) 5/
So why do I bring this up now. Because people will always remember how you make them feel. These are really trying times for a lot of folks. Your response as a leader (and a human being) makes a huge difference. People need to know they are supported 6/
I’ve found - over the years - that if you show genuine concern for folks and express empathy & demonstrate flexibility, the return to the company is enormous. It’s your choice. You can alienate great people quickly or retain them long term through your words & actions. /fin
