on There are lots of theories of leadership, but empathetic leadership is an important concept for all leaders to understand. Enjoy Maryn Beutler’s final project where she takes a deep dive into empathetic leadership.
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on I have taken the last few days to reflect and educate myself on the occurring events in conjunction of completing my Journalism Master’s thesis, defending and promoting the positive effects of Empathetic Leadership. When I chose this topic to research and develop at the beginning of my master’s journey, I didn’t know how fitting it would be for where we have found ourselves today.
I have gone back and forth with my feelings about social media, news outlets and personal conversations in a time like this, the pros, cons and everything in between of standing up for how you feel and what you believe. But by taking a step back to observe, spending my days writing about leadership across all platforms of life, and educating myself politically, socially and economically I came to a couple conclusions I feel are worth sharing.
1. Right now, everyone has an opportunity to be a leader. Whether you think you are a leader or not, your actions, posts, beliefs, conversations etc. are leading someone, somewhere to think and respond in a certain way. Be thoughtful about what you do and say and use your platforms and voice to make a positive impact.
2. I truly believe that the majority of the people in the world, who I follow, in my life, who I talk to, who I work with, are good people, trying to make this world a better place. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways to make this world a better place right now, so if you see a post that doesn’t align exactly with how YOU think the world can be a better place, don’t scold that person for it, say it’s not enough or laugh about their courage to speak up. I know they are trying, and I hope others believe that they are trying too.
3. Everyone is fighting their own battles. ABSOLUTELY we need to come together to become one force to defeat social injustice, a world pandemic and economic crisis, but we also need to be compassionate towards each person’s individual battles that they are facing. In the midst of coming together to achieve a common goal we need to cherish each other’s differences and use our diverse stories for a greater good.
4. EMPATHY is what is going to get us through these unpredictable times. Being empathetic, “to show an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”
To achieve this, you need to LISTEN.
I know I am different than some of my friends, coworkers, family members and neighbors. I know that others have been less privileged than myself. I know that I have experienced different events than others. I also know that everyone is fighting their own battle and has been affected by all of these circumstances in one way or another. That is something that we all have in common. How can we use that one commonality to our advantage in a time like this?
We need leaders, good leaders, Empathetic Leaders to step up and fight for what they believe in, but to also consider what others are going through and appreciate the thoughts and beliefs that they can contribute to the cause. That is how you gain followers and create a force that beats all odds. Best part is, we can all be that Empathetic Leader. It’s time to step up.
#empatheticleadership #fightsocialinjustice #blacklivesmatter #alllivesmatter #together #beokbeinguncomfortable #actionsandwords #dosomething
on Please note I wrote this first thing on 5/30 and I will be updating this post with more brands that are authentically addressing issues of systematic racism. Thanks to those who have sent me links (Deb, Maggie).
What a horrible week for our country.
I am heartbroken at the violence across the country, including multiple incidences here in Oregon. We are better than this. Aren’t we? Who can lead us out of the current situation and help us start to address issues of systematic racism? It sure as hell isn’t our government.
It comes down to brands. Brands and empathy.
Brands have a choice–to either take a stand against racism, or to sit this one out. It’s so easy to sit it out, isn’t it? To think that racism is so far outside of a brand’s wheelhouse as a rationale for not addressing what is now seen as a pandemic in our country.
And this is where empathy comes in. Brands that understand how people are feeling, how current events strike many of us to our very core, how so many of us are struggling with the idea of ‘what can we do’–these brands can help us, as individuals, find our voices to start to address the systematic racism so embedded in our country.
Nike did it.
Read more about it at Adweek in an article written by our colleague Doug Zanger:
here
Adweek also shared which brands are decrying racism on social media: here The list includes Ben & Jerry’s, Def Jam records, and several Minnneapolis-based professional sports franchises.
Reebok spoke out simply about the role of black people in our country here.
These brands all have deep roots in addressing issues in the African American community and of financially supporting organizations that address racism. Their words are authentic and courageous. This isn’t going to work for every brand. And brands shouldn’t expect to see any kind of financial reward.
But the bigger reward–the reward of encouraging people to think about these issues in an empathetic way, and to help people figure out what they personally can and will do to address this pandemic is priceless.