These 2 Letters Make All The Difference

In sports, the line between winning and losing is miniscule.

In leadership, your mindset will determine your effectiveness before any action is taken.

Your attitude towards people is either: empathetic or apathetic.

• Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others.

• Apathy is the state of indifference, a lack of care for others.

Here’s why this distinction matters (Gallup study):

70% of engagement at work depends on your manager relationship.

75% of people leave because of their manager.

The gap between effective and ineffective manager comes down to care.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Of course he’s going to talk about this because it’s a soft skill.”

You’re partially correct, but that’s not the only reason.

What’s more powerful than stats is testimonies.

I’ve personally witnessed and experienced both sides of the coin.

• Empathy makes people feel valued, heard and accounted for.

• Apathy comes off cold, robotic and uninterested.

I can’t get inside manager’s heads and test their intentions, but behaviors are a result of attitudes and beliefs.

Ask most people and they’d take a less skilled manager that cares for them over a more skilled one that treats them like a number.

Why is this so important?

Because in the Age of Ai, how ‘human’ you treat people becomes your competitive edge.

Skills can be taught, but it’s really hard to change someone’s heart.

While coaching or consulting, I can tell within the first 15 minutes of a conversation if it’s a heart or skill problem.

The former can rarely be helped, but the latter is teachable.

That’s why I harp so much on identifying the leadership qualities you’re looking for in your company before promoting people.

• Empathetic leaders serve their people

• Apathetic leaders serve themselves.

Take all the qualitative and quantitative evaluations and assessments you want, but let me save you some time (and money) by emphasizing empathy as a non-negotiable trait in leaders.

Owners and executives, take note of people in your company who others confide in.

Leaders are and always will be judged for how they communicate and treat people.

With your current leadership, who is empathetic versus apathetic?

The contrast in perception of style will be crystal clear.

If you need help in assessing your leaders, contact me here.

God Bless,

Scott

If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

• 🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)

• 🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)

• 🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!