Empathetic Leadership: Why Does it Matter, and Why Now?

There can be no doubt that the quality of the health care work environment and staff satisfaction influence patient satisfaction with the care experience. Further, we know that the relationship between leaders and staff impacts staff satisfaction. As leader relationships with staff improve, staff satisfaction increases and turnover intention decreases. (Stuart, Moore and Sims, 2020). A stressful work environment, poor communication and declining employee retention rates often result in a transactional attitude towards staff. A growing reliance on team care delivery requires leadership that can respond to crises and changes with resilience, in an environment of psychological safety (Edmonson, 1999). How, as case managers, do we foster such skills?

It has been suggested in the literature, and more recently, since the onset of the pandemic, with people having gone through grief, loss and lockdown, and most living in fear, empathy is a critical leadership skill. (Vaswanathan and Chandy, 2021) Empathy is the cornerstone of a leader’s effectiveness in keeping stakeholders confident, employees engaged, and patients loyal. (Gambill, 2020)

Research has repeatedly shown that empathy informs the ability of leaders to exhibit emotional intelligence, design thinking, high performance, effective teamwork, healthy relationships, and clear communication. However, leaders must understand that there are different types of empathy-cognitive, emotional, and compassionate. (Gambill, 2020)

In this presentation, the speakers will define empathetic leadership, identify qualities important to the development of empathetic leadership, and help participants learn how to balance being empathetic and being able to make the hard decisions for the good of the team, the organization, and the clients served. (Gambill, 2020)