Developing Capability: Empathy and Trust

1. Developing Capability: Empathy and Trust

2. Empathy and Trust • As Goleman et al (2002) have noted for managers to effectively engage and sustain positive social interactions and relationships with others requires social awareness and sensitivity towards others. • Empathy and trust relates to understanding others and being able to alter the social dynamics between managers and their employees to influence and motivate performance.

3. Empathy and Sympathy • Many managers confuse the concepts of empathy and sympathy. • At a simple level, to empathise with someone is to recognise what someone is experiencing and to understand the emotional impact that has on a person. • To sympathise with someone also involves a degree of empathy but also feeling sorry for that person

4. Empathy Defined • Empathy reflects how individuals (managers) demonstrate participative and sensitive responses and behaviours towards others (Moran 1987; Srinivas 1995); (Rhinesmith 1996); (Gregersen et al 1998). • Empathy emphasises genuine concern for others and participative warm heartedness (Jordon and Cartwright 1998). Goleman et al (2011) Define empathy as the ability to

5. Empathy Defined • Empathy has also been defined as communication of compassion in the workplace. • Miller (2007) suggests that there are various elements needed to produce such behaviours, emotional and cognitive. • These elements include processing, noticing, connecting, and responding all involve various skills, behaviours and cognitive (knowledge) and thinking skills.

6. Culture based on Trust Shockley Zalabah et al. (2000) have conducted research that has found that organisational cultures which have high levels of internal trust between employees and managers and leaders, tend to be more successful, adoptive and innovative compared against organisations with low levels of internal trust. Similarly Kouzes and Posner (2011) found that managers and leaders who establish positive relationships with employees tend to have higher levels of productivity and lower turnover

7. Empathy as Competency • Empathy can be viewed from a competency perspective and broadly defined as sensing others feelings and perspectives and taking an active interest in their concerns. • Albrecht (2006) suggests that social intelligence as a more extended aspect of multiple intelligence theory..

8. Empathy & S I In Albrecht’s model, empathy fits within a five dimension model that represents the degree of social intelligence within an individual. • situational awareness • presence, • authenticity, • clarity and • empathy Having social competence also means being able to act with integrity and not manipulate social situations based on self interest. These areas of operating highlight the links between empathy, trust and ethics (Albrecht, 2006)

9. Empathy and Ethics Social intelligence also needs to address the issue of what is ethical and how ethics fits within the framework of empathy and trust. Whilst individuals can have a degree of social awareness, or display positive personal traits such as agreeableness, it is a separate consideration what they do with the information they have and how they manage relationships with others in an ethical manner. Segon and Booth (2013) note that a failing of the ESCI approach is that managers can learn to display the competency of empathy, however a key ethical consideration is how they use this to influence others-

10. Trustworthiness Goleman (1998) suggests that the concept of trust requires consistency in how managers display particularly interpersonal skills and behaviours towards others to engender feelings of confidence and reassurance that managers genuinely care about their employees or peers. When people feel a sense of trust this means managers are respected.

11. Trustworthiness Mayer et al. (1995) highlights three key factors that affect the interactions between a trustor and trustee in relationship management: 1. Ability 2. Benevolence 3. Integrity Building trusting relationships between managers and employees requires both emotional and social skills.

12. Trustworthiness Three specific attributes of trust are identified by Cummings and Bromiley (1996): • Belief that others make a conscious effort to behave in accordance with commitments • Honesty in negotiations • Not taking excessive advantage of others when opportunities are available

13. Trust, Authenticity and Ethics • There is a clear relationship between acting in an authentic manner, building trust and ethics. • Ethics involves questions of right and wrong. Character has been defined as “doing the right thing despite outside pressure to the contrary” (Likona, 1991), and is seen as an essential leadership attribute (Barlow et al 2003). In a leadership capacity, character is seen as “moral excellence:

14. Character and Virtue Character is a concept closely aligned to the study of ethics from a virtue perspective To act with character is to show virtue. Tjelveit (2003, p.400) writes: “character and virtue have to do with the ethical qualities of persons, with what we view as good, or excellent, or praiseworthy about them”.

15. Virtue and Leadership Virtues or characteristics that are described as “moral” feature in much of the leadership research and in particular the research on authentic leadership (Fairholm, 1991; Gardner & Avolio, 1998; Luthans & Avolio 2003; Mat et al. 2003; Price, 2002).

16. Virtue and Authentic Leadership Authentic leaders: • Know who they are and what they believe in • Show consistency between their values, ethical reasoning and actions • Develop positive psychological states such as confidence, optimism, hope and resilience in themselves and their associates; and • Are widely known and respected for their integrity (UNL Gallup Leadership Institute, 2004)

17. What are Virtues? Virtues are attitudes or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop our highest potential. They enable us to pursue the ideals we have adopted. Virtues are like habits; that is, once acquired, they become characteristic of a person. Moreover, a person who has developed virtues will be naturally disposed to act in ways consistent with moral principles • These characteristics build genuineness or authenticity which leads to trusting relationships

18. Virtues Virtues Honesty, Courage, Temperance, Compassion, Generosity, Fidelity, Integrity, Fairness, Self-control, and Prudence, etc. Vices Foolhardiness, Cowardice, Licentiousness, Miserliness, Vanity, Snobbishness, Buffoonery, boorishness, Envy, Malice, Ambition, laziness, and Injustice

19. The Virtuous Manager • Being ethical in terms of virtuous behaviour towards others, requires managers to be able to have established a solid foundation in managing social relationship and creating a sense of trust in the workplace

20. The Virtuous Manager • Solomon (2005) suggests that people acquire virtues such as integrity, honesty as habitual behaviours and that these behavioural competencies are desirable or ethical to display towards others instead of lying, cheating or ambition.

21. Key Competencies and Empathy and Trust Critical Competency 1: Empathy Critical Competency 2: Continuing Sensitivity to Events Critical Competency 3: Social Skills and Abilities Critical Competency 4: Authenticity

22. Critical Competency 1: Empathy • Goleman et al (2002) identifies empathy as originating from the social awareness quadrant is a critical competency for managers to acquire in being able to sense others feelings and perspectives as well as sharing an active interest or concern for others • Boyatzis, Cowen and Kolb (1995) position empathy within the people management cluster

23. Critical Competency 2: Continuing Sensitivity to Events • Without the basic ability to actually recognise: people, situations and reading the landscape, it is unlikely that managers will be effectual in their decision making or influence strategies. • Sensitivity and social awareness link with empathy. This competency recognises the need to respond to the soft information, specifically the emotions and feelings of others (Pedler et al. 2001)

24. Critical Competency 3 Social Skills and Abilities • These comprise the range of skills and abilities identified in Units such as Developing Capability: Verbal and Non-Verbal, dealing with effective communication, active listening and the ability to display empathy and to use power and influence appropriately. ( Concept explored in Leadership and Management)

25. Critical Competency 4 Authenticity • Authenticity addresses those attitudinal and behavioural domains that require people to act in a genuine or sincere manner, displays acts of humility and not succumb to social manipulation. • Trustworthiness is identified within Goleman et al. (2002) self regulation cluster

26. Empathy and Trust • Arguably for managers to effectively engage and sustain positive social interactions and relationships with others requires social awareness and sensitivity towards others. • Empathy and trust also relates to understanding others and being able to alter the social dynamics between managers and their employees to influence and motivate performance

27. Assessment Tasks- Individual • Students are to submit an essay of between 1800-2500 • This assessment task is designed to assist students to explore their own understanding of what it means to be a professional manager and leader. • The duties and obligations that are inherent in undertaking such roles. • It provides an opportunity to explore the typical ethical dilemmas that managers and leaders may face in different industries and occupations.