Human Dynamics of Crisis Leadership

Empathy is Key to Building Trust in Leader-Follower Relationship

Feb 3, 2009

A true leader has the ability to give meaning to a crisis event and turn it into an opportunity for growth. The key to building trust is empathy.

A true leader has the ability to give meaning to a crisis event and turn it into an opportunity for growth. Empathy is the key to building trust in the leader-follower relationship, and is indispensable for crisis leadership and recovery today.

When the world implodes and leadership matters most, it is the human quality of empathy that allows leaders to guide people through times of severe emotional distress. Daniel Goleman writes in Primal Leadership: “Leadership works through emotions. The more emotionally demanding the work, the more empathetic the leaders needs to be.”

In Working with Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman frames empathy as the “awareness of others' feelings, needs, and concerns.” Yet, as much as empathy focuses on others, it starts with oneself. Leaders in today’s global world must raise their own emotional and cultural awareness to enable themselves to recognize and develop the ability to relate to others, particularly when there are cultural differences at work. Leaders need to be aware of their own basic values, beliefs, assumptions and worldview and how they compare to others' cultural backgrounds and emotions.

In light of the economic crisis and the recent demise of Enron and other corporations, trust constitutes the key element for leaders to communicate and establish credibility. Empathy is vital for building trust through reliability and genuineness. The ability to admit one’s own fears and mistakes, and to confront unethical actions, are true leadership qualities today.

True empathy and genuine trust stem from the leader’s ability to display high integrity and honesty with a strong concern for the needs of others. It allows leaders to comfort and inspire others, creating group synergy toward a shared goal.

Leaders in today’s changing world must operate on a number of different emotional and cultural levels at any given time. These levels arise from their own cultural heritage, their employees’ cultural background and the culture of the organization that employs them. Culture is a shared system of meanings. Depending upon each person’s perspective, the same situation, product or service may have a different meaning for each individual in the organization. This cultural and emotional awareness is particularly heightened in times of adversity.

In a crisis situation, one’s cultural heritage affects what individuals pay attention to. It dictates how leaders respond to the crisis, their own emotions, the experience and their followers. An empathetic leader who can leverage a variety of emotions within themselves and others to facilitate rather than interfere with the task of moving forward opens the gateway to recovery from emotional distress caused by crisis events.

As an essential leadership competency, empathy is an inherently personal factor that applies to the human dimension of any crisis scenario. The approach varies, but empathy is the currency that distinguishes a good leader from a great leader in a crisis situation. Cultural and emotional themes play a significant role in the changing world and – therefore – in training curricula.

Organizational development consultants and trainers who embark on sharing leadership competence in their training, mentoring, and coaching ought to give significant consideration to the human dynamics of crisis leadership.

The copyright of the article Human Dynamics of Crisis Leadership in Employee/Management Relations is owned by Britta Stromeyer Esmail. Permission to republish Human Dynamics of Crisis Leadership in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.