Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2020 - 45

There is a direct connection
between empathy and
people's ability to learn.

How Can We
Do This?
Empathy is about understanding and
sharing someone else's feelings. Many
people confuse this with sympathy,
which is about having the same
feelings as someone else or feeling
compassion for the way another
person feels. Empathy is important
to life experience and how we work
together when feelings are involved in
getting work done.
Helen Riess, associate professor
of psychiatry at Harvard Medical
School and director of the Empathy
and Relational Science program at
Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston, frequently speaks on the
topic. She describes the "essence of
empathy" as, "seeing, hearing and
having our needs responded to."
She conducted a study with doctors
and patients monitoring participant's
physiology to see whether they were
in sync or in discord. She found that
our neural networks actually interact
with the neural networks of others
during interactions, and this helps
us understand and appreciate other
people's emotions. Her conclusion led
her to do a study that revealed how
frequently in the medical community
empathy is diminished, but with
training, empathetic behaviors could
be taught. She came up with specific
techniques for medical professionals

that improved patient
and compliance.

satisfaction

As learning professionals, we can apply
much of the psychological research
about teaching empathy to our
corporate classrooms, especially where
leadership is concerned. Empathy, from
a learning perspective, is will versus
skill. Often leaders have been taught
that too much empathy inhibits their
ability to make concrete decisions.
This simply is not true. A good leader
will make better decisions if they have
empathy. They will recognize that
their ability to get work done through
others relies on elements of curiosity
and genuine interest to understand the
impact a situation has on an employee.
It is no longer acceptable for leaders to
see empathy as a weakness.
How can we as learning leaders raise
the bar that drives leaders to success
from an empathy perspective? We can
teach empathetic behaviors.

Be Present in
the Moment
Be mindful and in the moment with
people during every interaction. Even
people who score low on an empathy
scale can get better at this by practicing
empathy behaviors, and based on Helen
Reiss studies, it works. Donna Wilson and
Marcus Conyers developed a strategy to
teach children active listening in their book

"Brain Smart: 60 Strategies for Increasing
Student Learning." It's called HEAR. We
can use this practice in our classrooms
with adults. It is a good and structured
way for people to check themselves when
they are preparing to listen or be in the
moment with an employee.

Halt: Stop what you are doing or
thinking, and clear your mind. Give
the person you are interacting with
your full attention.

Engage: Turn your head so your

right ear is toward the speaker to
show that you are engaged.

Anticipate: Look forward to
whatever the person is about to say,
and be ready to learn something new.
Replay: Think about what is said,
and replay it in your mind by analyzing
and paraphrasing. This will help
you remember.

Understand
Your Mood
It's important for leaders to understand
their moods and the impact they have
on others. Your mood plays a role in
determining your success. If we can
teach leaders to be aware of their
emotions and what is happening in their
own bodies with different triggers, we
can teach them to identify with other
people's feelings and moods.

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Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2020

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