Authenticity and Empathy
Daniel Goleman & Bill George | 7:57
Transcript
Bill, there's another kind of focus that I'm really interested in your thoughts on. I call it other focus focus on the person you're with on the people around you. And, of course, leadership depends on being able to tune into people, talk to them in a way they understand, motivate them, influence them, listen to them.
There are three kinds of empathy. There's cognitive empathy, cognitive empathy means understanding how the other person thinks the terms in which they perceive the world, what their mental models are. Understanding that can make you a very powerful communicator, because you know how to put things so people understand. The second kind is emotional empathy. And this involves actually different circuitry in the brain that helps us resonate, and feel in ourselves what the other person's feeling. And it creates a sense of resonance of chemistry of rapport. And the third kind is what's called empathic concern.
This draws on still different brain circuitry. It's the same circuitry that activates when we care for our children. It means that you not only understand how the person feels or how they think, but you care about it matters to you. And you communicate that you give someone the sense like your own children, like to stand you, I empathize with you, I care for you, I'll support you. In the business realm, I have your back. And there's an argument that leaders should manifest this to, that's the kind of boss everybody wants to have. Yes. So I'm interested in your thoughts on those three kinds of tuning into the other person, and how they matter for leadership?