Empathy:
How self-aware leaders create
self-aware organizations
Edward Walker MD, MHA
Director, UW Healthcare Leadership
Development Alliance
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“Could a greater miracle
take place than for us to
look through each
other's eyes for an
instant?”
- Henry David Thoreau
“If your emotional
abilities aren't in hand,
if you don't have selfawareness, if you are
not able to manage
your distressing
emotions, if you can't
have empathy and
have effective
relationships, then no
matter how smart you
are, you are not going
to get very far.”
- Daniel Goleman
“You know, there's a lot of talk in this country
about the federal deficit. But I think we should
talk more about our empathy deficit -- the
ability to put ourselves in someone else's
shoes; to see the world through the eyes of
those who are different from us -- the child
who's hungry, the steelworker who's been
laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they
built together when the storm came to town.
When you think like this -- when you choose
to broaden your ambit of concern and
empathize with the plight of others, whether
they are close friends or distant strangers -- it
becomes harder not to act; harder not to
help.”
- Barack Obama
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Positive Psychological Capital
To include constructs within PsyCap they must
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be based on theory and research
permit valid measurement
be open to development
have measurable performance impact
Fred Luthans, Bruce J. Avolio, et al. Positive psychological capital: measurement and relationship
with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology 60.3 (Autumn 2007): p541-572.
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Balancing group and individual
focus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g
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Empathy definition
The action of
understanding, being
aware of, being sensitive
to, and vicariously
experiencing the feelings,
thoughts, and experience
of another of either the
past or present without
having the feelings,
thoughts, and experience
fully communicated in an
objectively explicit manner
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Self-Awareness and Empathy as
Nested Phenomena
Trans Institutional
Global
Institutional
Organization
Intra- & InterGroup
Team
Interpersonal
Pair
Intrapersonal
Self
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Empathy
Awareness
Actions
Emotional Intelligence framework
Personal
Competence
Social
Competence
Self
Awareness
Social
Awareness
Self
Management
Relationship
Management
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Best book to read
on Emotional
Intelligence
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Resonant Leadership Summary
Mindfulness, hope and compassion are key
Effective teams and powerful, positive organizational
cultures do not happen by accident, they are created by
resonant leaders who employ emotional intelligence to
motivate and nurture their employees.
Yet resonance can be exhausting to maintain; even
outstanding leaders can turn dissonant under the
pressure of chronic business stress.
Rest and relaxation aren't enough to restore emotional
resilience. Leaders must:
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cultivate openness, curiosity and awareness about oneself and
others
visualize a positive, realistic dream
work to understand and improve the situations of others.
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Step 1: Knowing yourself
“And can we ever know what art
makes a man better, if we do not
know what we are ourselves?”
Plato, Alcibiades
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Self-Awareness
The ability to accurately
perceive one's own
emotions and stay
aware of them as they
occur, as well as
understanding the
impact of one's
emotions on specific
situations and people.
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Self-Awareness
Knowing one's internal states,
preferences, resources, and intuitions
Emotional awareness: Recognizing
one's emotions and their effects
Accurate self-assessment: Knowing
one's strengths and limits
Self-confidence: A strong sense of
one's self-worth and capabilities
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Do you take the time to
reflect?
Less is more: multitasking has
been discredited by neuroscience
research
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Tool: The 3 passions
What renews me
personally
What is your avocation?
To what do you return
when you are alone and
not otherwise occupied?
My family or
support system
To whom do you turn to
outside of work to be
renewed?
The best part of
my work
What is your core
purpose in the work you
do? What gives
meaning to your work?
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Tool: Yerkes Stress-Performance Curve
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Step 2: Managing
Yourself
“The unexamined life is not worth
living.”
Plato, The Apology
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Self-Management
The ability to use
awareness of one's
emotions to stay
flexible and positively
direct behavior managing emotional
reactions to specific
situations and people.
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Self-Management
Managing ones' internal states, impulses,
and resources
Emotional Self-control: Keeping disruptive
emotions and impulses in check
Transparency: Maintaining integrity, acting
congruently with one’s values
Adaptability: Flexibility in handling change
Achievement Orientation: Striving to improve
or meeting a standard of excellence
Initiative: Readiness to act on opportunities
Optimism: Persistence in pursuing goals despite
obstacles and setbacks
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The 3 management tasks of leaders
Strategic Management
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Positioning the organization in the
environment
Tactical Management
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Achieving operating plan targets with your
team
Personal management
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Reflective management of your internal world:
time and focus
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Do you have a
mentor or coach?
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Examining the unexamined life
Jesuit core values
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Self awareness
Ingenuity
Love
Heroism
The discipline of constant
self-improvement
The examen as a forerunner
of Toyota’s Kaizen
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Tool: Periodic self examination
Think about things that you have done in the
past 12 hours
Did you accomplish what you set out to do?
What worked? What did not?
What would you have done differently?
Why?
If you had not stopped to do this reflection, what
would your world have been like?
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Who has a claim on your time?
patients
spouse
colleagues
supervisor
kids
friends
committees
extended
family
team
volunteer work
commitments
your time
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Principles of time management
Managing lists and managing time are not the
same thing
Time is the most precious resource you have –
you turn it into other things
Know your rest-recharge cycle needs
Whose fault is it if you don’t balance these
competing priorities?
Burnout is your greatest risk as a leader
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Burnout Definition
A debilitating psychological condition brought
about by unrelieved work stress, resulting in:
Depleted energy and emotional exhaustion
Lowered resistance to illness
Increased depersonalization in interpersonal
relationships
Increased dissatisfaction and pessimism
Increased absenteeism and work inefficiency
Burnout: The High cost of Achievement, Freudenberger (1980)
Catalysts and inhibitors of burnout
Catalysts
Routine
Repeated Failure
Isolation
Lack of purpose
Non-alignment
Futility
Physical stress
Lack of sleep
Hair on fire work
Living at work
Inhibitors
Routine
Occasional wins
Team membership
Vision and purpose
Part of the whole
Intermediate goals
Wellness
Adequate rest
Planning
Living at home
Do you take
time for
lunch?
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urgency
Covey: First things first
Importance rather than urgency
Unimportant
Urgent
DECEPTION
Important
Urgent
3
1
4
2
Unimportant
Not urgent
WASTE
DEADLINE
Important
Not urgent
QUALITY
importance
Get this
out of the
way
Then
Focus
80%
effort
here!!
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Adapted from Steven Covey
Covey’s quadrant 2
People first, things second
Leadership first, management second
Effectiveness first, efficiency second
Purpose first, structure second
Vision first, method second
Covey, First things first
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People who have changed the world
“What caused followers to dedicate themselves
with such passion to the visions of Christ,
Buddha, Gandhi, Confucius, Martin Luther King,
Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela? They were
inspired, not motivated. We know that Martin
Luther King did not say, ‘I have a strategic
plan!’ And Mother Teresa didn’t have a quality
program – she didn’t need one. We are
unraveling the mysteries of these powerful
styles of leadership and finding that inspiration
is a the core of every great leader’s philosophy.”
Secretan, Inspirational Leadership
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EQ framework
Awareness
Actions
Personal
Competence
Social
Competence
Self
Awareness
Social
Awareness
Self
Management
Relationship
Management
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Step 3: Knowing others
“Seek to understand before being
understood”
St. Francis of Assisi, 13th Century,
seven centuries before Steven Covey
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Social Awareness
The ability to accurately
pick up on emotions
in other people and
get what is really
going on. This means
understanding what
other people are
thinking and feeling
even when it conflicts
with one's own
feelings.
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Social Awareness
Awareness of others feelings, needs, and
concerns
• Empathy: Sensing others' feelings and
perspectives, and taking an active interest in
their concerns
• Organizational awareness: Reading a group's
emotional currents and power relationships
• Service orientation: Anticipating, recognizing,
and meeting customers' needs
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Crucial Conversations
Understanding
Active listening
Clarification
Alignment
Do you know how to listen?
Really?
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Step 4: Managing others
"To lead people, walk beside them ... As for the best
leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
When the best leader's work is done the people say,
'We did it ourselves!'"
Lao-tsu, Tao Te Ching
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Relationship Management
The ability to use
awareness of one's own
emotions and the
emotions of others to
manage interactions
successfully. This
includes clear
communication and
effectiveness in
handling conflict. *
* And, sometimes, flowers and candy
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Relationship Management
Adeptness at inducing desirable responses in
others
• Inspirational Leadership: Inspiring and guiding
individuals and groups
• Developing others: Sensing others' development
needs and bolstering their abilities
• Influence: Wielding effective tactics for persuasion
• Change catalyst: Initiating or managing change
• Conflict management: Resolving disagreements
• Teamwork & Collaboration: Working with others
toward shared goals.
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Empathic, high
EQ leaders are
inspirational
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How leaders inspire people
Qualitative study of several thousand business
and government executives
“What values do you look for and admire in your
superiors?”
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Honest
Forward Looking
Inspiring
Competent
Fair
Supportive
88%
75%
68%
63%
49%
41%
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Kouzes and Posner, Credibility: how leaders gain and lose it.
5 characteristics of good leaders
Qualitative and quantitative study of over 60,000
leaders and constituents over a 15-year period
Five recurrent themes in good leaders:
 Challenging the process
 Inspiring a shared vision
 Enabling others to act
 Modeling the way
 Encouraging the heart
Kouzes and Posner, The leadership challenge
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1. Challenging the process
Good leaders:
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venture out and take risks
step up to meet major challenges
recognize good ideas
are early adopters of innovation
“as weather shapes mountains, problems
shape leaders”
“leaders learn by leading in the face of
obstacles”
Kouzes and Posner, The leadership challenge
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2. Inspiring a shared vision
Good leaders:
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have visions and dreams of what could be
have image of future pulling them forward
inspire rather than command commitment
help people feel understood
breathe life and hope into the dreams of
others
spread infectious enthusiasm about the future
Kouzes and Posner, The leadership challenge
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3. Enabling others to act
Good leaders:
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use the word “we”
involve all those who must live with the results
enable others to act not by hoarding power,
but by giving it away
proudly discuss teamwork, trust and
empowerment as essential elements of their
efforts
Kouzes and Posner, The leadership challenge
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4. Modeling the way
Good leaders:
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never ask anyone to do anything they
wouldn’t personally do first
they go first and show that it can be done
model the way by personal example and
dedicated execution
know that grand dreams are not realized
without hard work and persistence, and that
they need to show how it is done
Kouzes and Posner, The leadership challenge
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5. Encouraging the heart
Good leaders:
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encourage those who share the vision
use acts of caring to draw people forward
show people that they can win
recognize and celebrate
reward effort and renew those who fail
love their work and those they work with
Kouzes and Posner, The leadership challenge
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Balancing group and individual
focus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
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