“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
--Theodore Roosevelt
When it comes to showing others they care, leaders’ actions and words must match. How many times have employees heard, “My door is always open,” only to find it isn’t? Or been told, “I’d like honest feedback,” only to find how punishing honesty can be? Or being docked for taking time off to handle a personal matter after having been assured that “you’re more than an employee; you’re part of our family”?
In an ideal world, a caring leader shows concern for the well-being of others over and above their personal agenda. They listen, show empathy and compassion, treat others fairly, encourage professional and personal development, and acknowledge others. They create an environment of trust and inclusivity that builds a community around the work being done.
But we all know that isn’t always the case, for ideal worlds don’t exist—the reality is that the demands on leaders have evolved over time even if intrinsic leadership qualities haven’t. And this means that to accomplish the same results as in the past, leaders of organizations have had to change not only their focus but also their behaviors.
In her article “Management’s Three Eras: A Brief History,” published in Harvard Business Review in 2014, Rita McGrath wrote about the three “ages” of management since the industrial revolution, with each putting emphasis on a different theme: execution, expertise, and empathy.
She points out that with the advent of new technologies during the industrial revolution, goods could be produced at greater quantity and scale through mass production. This resulted in a whole new way of organizing a business. No longer would one person make a product from beginning to end. Groups of people churned out an end product at a faster rate. Think Henry Ford’s assembly lines at Ford Motor Company. Individuals at each step of the process executed their process, with high precision and, of course, relentless oversight to ensure compliance.
In the mid-twentieth century, with the advent of computers and software, a second shift occurred, according to McGrath. The focus shifted from product manufacturing to providing services. Peter Drucker saw that value was created by not only executing tasks but also by using information, something he called “knowledge work.” Knowledge enables expertise, and this was essential in an evolving service economy. Employees were not just interchangeable parts of a process; when they left an organization, knowledge walked out the door. Consequently, company leaders looked for ways to retain expertise, and their emphasis moved from overseeing execution to motivating and engaging employees—their knowledge assets.
Today we’re looking at another shift in organizations. With increased information-sharing and connectivity, no longer is execution or expertise enough. Employees—especially from the Millennial and Gen Z generations, who are the bulk of the workforce—are looking for a complete and meaningful experience. And, they demand a healthy life-work balance. That’s reality. And to provide that, leaders must be empathetic, on several levels. Leaders need to move away from hierarchical organizational structures and develop work communities, tailored to the task, created based on need, and this can’t be done without empathy, or putting oneself in another’s shoes. The individuals in these groupings must feel valued, needed, included, and that requires empathy. And empathy can’t exist without vulnerability.
Vulnerability enables leaders to feel what others feel, to understand what it’s like to be them. Vulnerability allows us to expose ourselves to uncomfortable emotions, be in touch with our own experiences so we can relate to others, and, critically, to make a connection with those we lead. Leaders must be willing not only to listen closely but also to authentically share their understanding and compassion with others to thrive in this new leadership environment. Otherwise, they’ll fail to lead effectively.
Making this shift is a tall order today for many organizations still rooted in the ideas of the past and focused on execution and expertise. More than ever, this new paradigm shift requires leaders to bring empathy to the workplace. They must care, and their behaviors must validate that they care—lip service won’t do. Today’s workers are smarter than that, and if they’re not getting what they want from their work environment, they’ll walk. Deeds, not words.