Empathy – The Ultimate Goal
The past two weeks I’ve been talking about taking your emotional temperature and subsequently being able to regulate that emotional temperature so you can give yourself the highest chance of being at your best. Well, what about helping others be at their best, especially during challenging moments or times?
Many leadership and management schools of thought talk about this at length – helping others be at their best is, of course, a major leadership competency. Let me invite you to take an emotional perspective on this. Just as we discussed taking your emotional temperature, is it not possible to take someone else’s emotional temperature? Sure it is. Try it. At your next meeting, look at someone, anyone, in your presence. Based on their verbals and non-verbals, can you guesstimate their emotional temperature? Is it Low, Medium or High? Sure you can. You already do it.
For example, and for illustrative purposes I will exaggerate this, if the person in question is paying attention to you, asking questions, taking notes, and seems highly present and engaged, it’s safe to assume that their emotional temperature is in a very good state (Low) and that the meeting with them will likely be very productive. Conversely, if the person is not engaged, abrasive, not paying attention, or disengaged, then chances are that they will not be at their best. Having the ability to emotionally recognize the emotional state of others is what empathy is (similar to your own self-awareness).
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