Empathy is a very important component of Emotional Intelligence. Have you ever cried when your friend had a bad experience? This is Empathy. It is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feels, see the things from their view point & imagine yourself in their situation. Empathy is putting yourself into someone else’s shoes. It is the ability to understand how exactly others are feeling in a given situation.

To understand other’s emotions & to respond with complementary emotions & to understand other’s perspective is Empathy. Empathy response also depends upon parenting style. According to Mr. Goleman, a famous Psychologist, there are three types of empathy.

• Cognitive Empathy: – It is the ability to understand another person’s perspective.
• Emotional Empathy: – It is the ability to physically feel, what another person feels.
• Empathy concern: – It is the ability to understand what the other person needs from you.

Empathy plays an Important role at workplace. Knowing how to be Empathic can help you to improve communication with others & and to create great relationships, making for the positive workplace. Empathetic leadership means having the ability to understand the needs of others and being aware of their feelings and thoughts, empathy in the workspace is positively related to the job performance. Empathetic leadership can be learned. If given enough time and support, leaders can develop and enhance their empathy skills through coaching, training and mentoring. There are simple ways to improve empathy at workplace.

• Talk about empathy at workplace to improve its value.
• Teach listening skills.
• Encourage genuine Perspective – Taking
• Cultivate compassion.
• Support Global Managers.