getty
As businesses seeking high organizational performance continue to focus on ensuring employee well-being and mental health, more leaders are also adopting a self-empathetic approach to stay balanced, enhance awareness, improve resilience and be more effective in their own roles. By leveraging the skill of self-empathy, leaders can facilitate a healthier work environment for all while fostering their own personal and professional growth at the same time.
Leaders who understand and are aware of their own emotions, thoughts and needs will be better able to connect with team members and colleagues, build trust and cultivate a positive workplace culture. Below, 15 Forbes Coaches Council members explore clear examples of how embracing self-empathy can fuel both one’s growth as a leader and the company’s success.
1. Owning One’s Limitations Fosters Trust And Collaboration
A leader who is open and honest with their team—asking for feedback, taking ownership of mistakes and engaging in collaborative problem-solving—demonstrates that it is okay to be imperfect. By exhibiting vulnerability, they emulate self-empathy and model that owning one’s limitations is healthy and human. This fosters trust and collaboration and promotes strong teamwork. - Candice Gottlieb-Clark, Dynamic Team Solutions
2. Modeling Vulnerability Creates An Inclusive, Caring Culture
While no human is perfect, leaders sometimes think they must be perceived as flawless or as having all the answers. A leader who is able to meet their own shortcomings with self-compassion sets the tone for others to do the same. This looks like admitting and accepting our mistakes and taking time for self-care when stressed. When leaders model vulnerability, it creates a more inclusive and caring culture. - Melissa Eisler, Wide Lens Leadership
3. Staying Aligned With Your Core Values Prevents Burnout
As a client’s dear uncle faces cancer, she is leading through self-empathy. The client recently spent two weeks with her aunt and uncle and was able to work for much of that time. She prioritizes self-empathy because she knows her core values. Other leadership decisions are based on those values too, so living in alignment with them builds trust, fosters relationships and prevents burnout. - Kelly Byrnes, Voyage Consulting Group
4. Helping Yourself First Allows You To Better Help Others
A leader using self-empathy is like someone putting on their own oxygen mask first in an airplane emergency. By addressing their own needs and emotional well-being first, they gain the resilience and clarity they need to lead themselves and their team effectively. This approach fosters a positive environment, boosts personal growth and improves decision-making, leading to sustainable leadership and a productive team. - Alexandra Salamis, Integral Leadership Design
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
5. Confronting Imposter Syndrome Inspires Other Sufferers
It’s common for leaders to struggle with imposter syndrome, particularly as they step into new, more demanding roles. This struggle can feel daunting and paralyzing. Yet, by confronting these fears, openly discussing them and learning to push through these obstacles, leaders not only experience personal growth, but also demonstrate behaviors that encourage others to do the same. - Brian Houp, ReZone Coaching
6. Practicing Self-Kindness And Self-Forgiveness Models Resilience
Self-kindness is treating oneself with kindness and understanding, especially in the face of one’s own mistakes and failures. Self-kindness involves forgiving oneself for errors, acknowledging personal limitations and recognizing that perfection is unattainable. By practicing self-kindness, leaders model resilience and a healthy approach to challenges. - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises
7. Staying Home When You’re Sick Sets A Self-Care Example
Not coming into the office when you are sick serves as a great example to others that taking care of yourself in the short term is a necessity, or it will become a long-term problem. Everyone has days when they are worn out, contagious or just not in a state to be making good decisions. Honor those days yourself, and others will as well. - Amy Feind Reeves, HireAHiringManager, Formerly JobCoachAmy
8. Taking A Mental Health Day Empowers Team Members
A leader taking a mental health day models self-care and vulnerability, fostering a supportive environment. This promotes personal and professional growth by prioritizing well-being and encouraging a culture where team members feel valued and empowered to do the same. - Dr. Courtney L. Teague, CLT & Associates
9. Reflecting On Challenges Cultivates An Empathetic Culture
By reflecting on their challenges with self-empathy, leaders exemplify resilience, fostering personal and professional growth. This approach, rooted in the principles of authentic self and emotional agility, cultivates an empathetic culture, enhancing trust and innovation and demonstrating that understanding and managing one’s emotions can lead to impactful leadership and organizational success. - Andre Shojaie, HumanLearn
10. Admitting To Mistakes In Meetings Creates A Safe Space
A leader can lead through self-empathy by acknowledging their own mistakes and sharing learning experiences in team meetings. For instance, a leader might share a personal story of a failed project, detailing their thought process, the missteps made and the lessons learned. This humanizes the leader, creates a safe space and fosters a culture of trust, continuous learning and open communication. - Stephan Lendi, Newbury Media & Communications GmbH
11. Responding Positively To Feedback Inspires Change
I have a client who is leading through self-empathy. She received some significant leadership feedback. Instead of becoming defensive, she explored it. She sent a team note thanking them for the feedback and committing to improve. This note displayed empathy for the team regarding the impact of her behavior. It displayed self-empathy for pushing herself too hard. The result: an inspiring turning point! - Jill Helmer, Jill Helmer Consulting
12. Self-Awareness Helps You Assess Your Self-Management
Self-empathy requires a high level of self-awareness in five key areas: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and occupational. Reflecting on these five domains helps a leader understand where they might be lacking in their own self-management as they lead their teams. When leaders take care of themselves, they can take better care of the people around them. - Steve Shrout, Steve Shrout Coaching
13. Patience Prevents Emotionally Driven Decision-Making
Acknowledging that some situations produce an emotional response, and choosing not to make decisions when experiencing those emotions, is an example of leading through self-empathy. Giving oneself space to process the situation patiently and mindfully helps leaders think and respond appropriately. It also sets an example and helps a leader know when to give others space for the same exercise. - Lindsay Miller, Reverie Organizational Development Specialists
14. Taking Needed Breaks Sets A Precedent For The Team
Great leaders lead by example. Clear thinking enables better decision-making. Practicing self-empathy by acknowledging the need to take breaks and focus on mental well-being sets a precedent for the team. This fosters a culture of self-care, enhancing productivity and growth for both the leader and the team. - Steve Walsh, Exceptional Transformations LLC
15. Establishing Healthy Boundaries Creates Respect
A key component of practicing self-empathy is establishing healthy boundaries. Boundaries create a healthy culture where team members show respect for others, recognize challenges, establish ways of working with competing boundaries and develop ways of working with or around them. Having a healthy culture results in a more respectful, fulfilled and engaged team, which results in greater productivity. - Anita O’Connor-Roberts, AOC Consulting
