Myth #5: Empathy doesn’t slow decision making, it accelerates the right decisions

This one comes up a lot in podcasts too. “But if I have to stop and consider everyone, it slows me down”. But does it? And, more importantly, is not using empathy causing you to make the wrong decisions? Talk about a time waster!

This goes along with the idea that empathy is a ‘nice-to-have’. It’s like having whipped cream on your cheesecake: it’s nice, but not really necessary.  Except that, unlike that whipped cream, it actually is necessary.

The people that voice this seem to think that empathy overcomplicates things, or that it introduces too many feelings, or that it stops bold moves.  But when you make decisions without first understanding the perspective of others, that’s when you lose momentum, profit, and the ability to make strategic decisions that stick.

Here’s an example.  The Association of Change Management Professionals estimate over 70% of change initiatives fail!  And the top two reasons are lack of sponsor support and lack of communication.  However, these are both things that taking the perspective of your people could fix.  A little empathy could smooth the way for your next billion-dollar implementation!

By taking the other person’s perspective you suddenly:

Have communication that works instead of noise.

Know what your people need and, as the sponsor, are able to support them.

Can create strategy and vision and execute them both!

You’re not getting caught in the mire of understanding every little feeling because (say it with me) empathy isn’t just about feeling! You’re using targeted, strategic empathy to drive revenue and productivity.  Employee attrition lessens, and employee satisfaction goes up.  And you suddenly understand stakeholder perspectives, from the customer to your board of directors.  Empathy isn’t just a super-skill, it’s the super-skill.

By understanding that empathy is a skill, you know not to let emotions override data, or delay decisions until everyone has a say.  You know that’s not what empathy is.  But you are  able to address potential friction in real-time, saving all those billions on wasted change initiatives, among other things.

Using empathy to understand the environment allows precision, and precision as a leader creates trust and, ultimately, momentum.So the question isn’t whether you can take the time to effectively use strategic empathy.  The question is whether you can afford not to.