Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.” – Daniel Pink
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. When someone wrote about their negative view of the work environment at Amazon in the New York Times, saying that management wasn’t accommodating to its employees, Bezos recanted with an internal memo to all of his employees. In this memo, Jeff made sure to say, “…our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero,” and for good reason. Bezos understands just how important empathy can be.
I place an emphasis on this memo, not only because it shows the importance that Bezos places on the standard of empathy, but because it shows that companies choose to either create a culture of empathy or they don’t. So, how can leaders create a more empathetic environment, even if they feel they are not wired to be empathetic? Here are three ways that anyone can show more empathy, starting right now:
