Michael Hyatt, leadership expert and the former CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers, says “If you are going to be an effective leader, you must be able to enter your followers’ world. In fact, if you are going to influence anyone or anything—your employees, a client, your spouse or even your kids—you are going to have to get really good at incarnational leadership."
Incarnation leadership is when leaders place themselves in the shoes of someone else that they are leading. Outstanding leaders learn to understand the other person’s thoughts, feelings, and aspirations without personally experiencing them.
Understanding where people are coming from emotionally is critical because their feelings lead to behaviors and those behaviors lead to results (good or bad). It’s about empathy.
Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of one of the fastest growing agencies in New York—VaynerMedia, says if there was one thing he could teach the world it would be empathy. Understanding that the world is about depth not width. A small, meaningful act will mean much more than a huge one that lacks substance. Lead with your ears rather than your mouth.
Related Read: Are You Making This Classic Leadership Mistake When Leading Millennials?
Vaynerchuk also believes that the single most important thing you can hire for in your company is empathy. He writes, “Fill your walls with compassion and the humanity will follow. And guess what follows humanity? Success."
Leadership expert John C. Maxwell says it this way, “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others (empathy), but far enough ahead (vision) to motivate them."
According to Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., in a Harvard Business Review article, there are three reasons why we need to show more empathy at work: the increasing use of teams, the rapid pace of globalization, and the growing need to retain talent. Incarnation leadership or empathy goes a long way in today’s instant gratification, fast-paced, and transactional workplace.
Goleman explains, “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”
Audiences are always asking me, “Why don’t Millennials have to adjust to my way of working?" Wrong question if you believe in the power of empathy. The right question is, “How do I as a leader establish greater influence with my Millennial team?"
The answer is with empathy.
You must first touch a heart before asking for their hand in leadership.
Question: How has empathy enhanced your leadership?
Consider Ryan Jenkins to be your next Millennial/Generation Y or Generation Z keynote speaker by clicking here...
