Empathy enhancing antidotes for interpersonally toxic leaders.

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that toxic interpersonal leadership practices and behavior cause serious problems for employees, organizations, and society (Kraskikova, Green, & LeBreton, 2013;Schyns & Schilling, 2013). The empathy-altruism hypothesis (e.g., Batson & Oleson, 1991) suggests that an empathic response is a necessary component in human prosocial behaviors with important implications for both leaders and organizations today. Many studies support a link between empathy (empathetic distress, empathic concern, and perspective-taking) and prosocial engagement (Zak, 2018), as well as a significant association between lack of perceived caring and warmth of leaders and adverse emotional, behavioral, and health outcomes in employees (Nowack, 2016). In this article, we explore the value of empathy as a set of behaviors to mitigate the association between toxic interpersonal leadership practices and negative individual and organizational outcomes (e.g., retention intentions, disengagement, psychological well-being). In our summary, we suggest specific evidence-based interventions for practitioners and organizations to promote empathyenhancing antidotes to such toxic leadership practices. What's It Mean? Implications for Consulting PsychologyLeaders who demonstrate caring and empathy contribute to positive outcomes on employee engagement, performance, and retention. Specific individual and organizational interventions are suggested for enhancing empathetic concern, perspectivetaking, and caring in leaders at all levels.

Supporting women leaders: Research-based directions for gender inclusion in organizations.

“…Recent trends in research presented in this article provide valuable knowledge on evolving gender stereotypes (Eagly et al, 2020), hidden biases in women’s placement into key organizational roles (Babcock et al, 2017; Kaiser & Wallace, 2016; Lyness & Heilman, 2006), and the subtle prejudices in feedback and evaluation processes (Bono et al, 2017). The links among empathy, compassion, and other prosocial behaviors along with discoveries in neuroscience (Nowack & Zak, 2020; Zak, 2018) offer innovative directions for supporting women leaders and advancing DEI. Implications for practice and research from the major findings in these research studies are discussed with the intent of offering ideas for practitioners and researchers to expand on ways of supporting women leaders and developing inclusive leaders in organizations.…”

“…Their generous appreciation of others may enable humble CEOs to build more diverse teams that can work together effectively. Evidence shows that as organizations strive to become more inclusive, an important strategy may be to develop and reward leaders who demonstrate more communal behaviors such as humility, caring, and empathy (Nowack & Zak, 2020).…”

“…Citing numerous studies in their comprehensive article supporting the value of demonstrating empathy and offering solutions for toxic leadership, Nowack and Zak (2020) provided suggestions for enhancing empathy in individuals, teams, and organizations that also have implications for women’s leadership and for the leadership development of both men and women. Leaders who demonstrate caring and empathy tend to foster positive results in employee engagement, retention, and performance.…”

Working With a Psychopath: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?

“…People also appear to prefer working alongside pleasant but less capable and knowledgeable individuals than individuals who are competent, but unfriendly or hostile ( Casciaro & Lobo, 2005 ). As such, organizations may benefit both financially and reputationally in fostering an empathetic environment in addition to developing and enhancing empathy within its constituents ( Nowack & Zak, 2020 ).…”

Neuroscience hacks to enhance learning agility in leaders.

“…For those consulting and working with teams, fostering the creation and adaption of empathy-oriented norms will help to promote civility, respect, and understanding to enhancing interpersonal trust and psychological safety (Nook et al, 2016; Nowack & Zak, 2020). Additionally, assessing and designing specific programs and interventions addressing the four components of psychological safety and trust in teams that include: (a) perceived competence/ability; (b) consistency of team-member behavior; (c) displays of caring consideration; and (d) candor, authenticity, and integrity will facilitate team effectiveness and performance (Nowack & Zak, 2021).…”