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8 Tips to Help Employees Practice Empathy at Work

by | Dec 26, 2023 | Active Listening, Communication, Engagement, Gratitude, Recognition, Trust

8 tips to practice empathy at work

So, what does it actually look like for employees to practice empathy with each other? Here are some easy ways to incorporate empathy into a daily routine.

1. Assume best intentions of others

When we don’t understand someone’s perspective, it can be easy to assume the worst about them. However, this mindset allows negativity and potentially inaccurate biases to flourish and can destroy relationships.

Instead, approach each interaction with team members with a positive view. There may very well be more to the story underlying their behavior that you don’t yet know.

2. Listen more than you speak

When a team member discusses a challenge they’re experiencing, don’t interrupt them with tales of how you experienced something similar or offer unsolicited advice for what you think they should do. Sometimes, people just want to be heard and understood.

In these moments, practice active listening skills, which involves:

  • Focusing on what is being said
  • Making eye contact
  • Acknowledging what someone has said by repeating it back or requesting clarification on certain points
  • Avoiding nonverbal communication that could convey a lack of interest, such as fidgeting
  • Minimizing distractions

3. Ask questions

Don’t rely on your assumptions about a situation. Respectfully and thoughtfully ask team members questions so you can better understand the challenge they’re facing or their perspective on an issue.

4. Validate others’ feelings

Show that you recognize and understand what others are feeling, which is a critical part of conveying nonjudgment and building trust. You can say things like, “I’m sorry you’re experiencing this problem. I’m sure it must be so frustrating. I appreciate your letting me know what’s going on.”

5. Step outside your comfort zone

Your biases can impact how you perceive others, especially those team members of different backgrounds and experiences. Remember: Different doesn’t equate with wrong or bad. To be more empathetic, you may just need to open yourself up to new experiences and broaden your way of thinking.

  • Be open to meeting new people in the office – even seeking out people who are different from you.
  • Consider others’ ideas and learn from them.
  • Challenge your own biases.

This can encourage diversity of thought as well as inclusion in the workplace.

6. Offer to help

One of the questions you should ask a team member who’s struggling is, “How can I help you?” For example, if they’re overwhelmed with their current workload, you could take some responsibilities off their plate or volunteer to serve as their back-up. This also demonstrates that you’re a team player.

7. Recognize others’ accomplishments or strengths

When people feel valued, it can help them overcome a challenge or setback. To remind team members of their worth, use peer recognition. Call them out in front of others for their:

  • Talents they bring to the table
  • Goals they’ve met
  • Achievements they’ve secured
  • Hard work

8. Take care of yourself

You can’t be empathetic to others if you’re stressed out, in a negative mindset and not taking care of yourself. Prioritize your wellbeing and work-life balance so you’re most likely to engage team members in a respectful and productive way.

Source: Kimberly J. Shaw, Insperity

“Like many things in life, your compassion is a skill that can be exercised.”
– Simeon Lindstrom

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

DiSC Management

Management on Catalyst uses Everything DiSC to provide insights about an individual’s personal management style while also providing tips on how to improve the following management specific skillsets:

  1. Directing & delegating
  2. Creating a motivating environment
  3. Developing talent
  4. Managing up

Everything DiSC Management on Catalyst will guide managers with specific tips on how to perform these tasks with anyone on their team. The DiSC Management tips on Catalyst are unique because all of the information is personalized to the user. The insights provided are dynamically customized based on a user’s personality style.

How To Maximize Your Joy & Savor The Holidays

by | Dec 12, 2023 | Feelings, Gratitude

4 Ways to savor your joy and the holidays

Why Savoring Is Linked to Happiness?

Consciously savoring the good things in life is important because neuroscience research suggests that our brains have a negative bias. Negative things tend to stand out in our minds, while positive things tend to be easily dismissed or forgotten. 

Considering this, it’s perhaps not surprising that savoring — or being good at taking in good things — is linked to increased well-being, happiness, life satisfaction, and decreased depression.

4 Ways to Savor Joy

  1. Bask in happy moments.

Much like the practice of mindfulness, this type of savoring involves being present in the current moment and aware of sensory information. But unlike mindfulness, which emphasizes detached observation, in-the-moment savoring involves actively seeking out and soaking in positive emotions.

Try it out: Try selecting a few specific moments or events over the next week that you plan to savor. 

  1. Wear your joy on your sleeve.

Another way to elevate your positive experiences is through your non-verbal behaviors and expressions. We typically think of our physical reactions as simply the result of our emotions (for example, we smile because we feel happy).

However, science suggests the chain reaction goes both ways — smiling actually makes us feel happier while hunching our shoulders and crossing our arms can make us feel more upset.

Try it out: This holiday season, try intentionally laughing, smiling, hugging, exchanging high fives, jumping for joy, and doing the happy dance to amplify your happy moments.

  1. Engage in positive mental time travel.

We all have the ability to “time travel” within our minds to a more positive moment — whether it’s sometime in the past or in our anticipated future. Studies show that vividly reminiscing over positive experiences and eagerly anticipating future joyful occasions can boost your happiness levels, both in the moment and over time.

Try it out: Think about a time when you felt so happy, you thought you would burst. Remember how you felt in that moment (Giddy? Grateful? Excited?). Replay the event in your mind as if you were reliving it. 

  1. Share your gratitude with others.

While the first 3 savoring strategies can be done solo, this last one requires connecting with other people. Research suggests that sharing positive events with others is a great way to further amplify and savor the good things in your life. This strategy works best when you share with someone you’re close to and when that someone is likely to mirror back your positive emotions.

This creates an upward spiral of positivity. In fact, some research suggests involving others in your savoring can not only increase the positive impact of events but can also boost your mental and physical resilience.

Try it out: Do some savoring with others this holiday season by taking the time to connect with people who are important to you. 

Source: CCL

Everyone at Aha!Leadership wishes you and your family the most wonderful holiday season!

 

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

Conversation Starters

With Conversation Starters on Catalyst, teams have an easy and fun way to tackle common challenges that hinder performance and move to tangible change. By combining DiSC with simple discussion guides, teams can talk about personality-based differences and how they affect group performance.

You will:

  • Get to know each other faster
  • Communicate more clearly
  • Make better decisions together

Getting started is easy!

  1. Visit the Your Groups feature on Catalyst
  2. Create and save a group with people in your organization
  3. Click into Conversation Starters and choose a topic

Simple Ways to Show Appreciation at Work

by | Nov 27, 2023 | Active Listening, Change Management, Communication, Flexible Schedule, Gratitude, Recognition

Simple ways to show appreciation at work 

Similar to trust, appreciation is relationship-based — each interaction with someone strengthens or weakens that invisible connection. The more we feel appreciated, the stronger those bonds become, and the more tension they can withstand when something challenges it. Consequently, knowing how to build and maintain relationships where people feel appreciated is a foundational skill — one that’s important to learn from the very early stages of your career.

While appreciation is something you can express, it’s also something you can show through your actions and behaviors. If you – as a manager or an individual contributor — want to build the kind of relationships where people feel valued, communication flows, and great work gets done, it’s important to expand your understanding of appreciation beyond verbal expressions and learn to show people you value them as well.

Show your appreciation for people’s presence.

To feel a sense of belonging, people must know that others care that they are there. Sure, we all get paid to show up to our jobs every day. But the reality is that our peers and direct reports could choose to work elsewhere. Letting someone know their presence is having an impact on you or the organization can make a big difference. Managers and individual contributors alike can share this appreciation with the following actions:

  • Although it sounds like basic decency, greet people when they arrive at the office or join a meeting, and say goodbye when they leave.
  • Notice when people are missing at work and reach out: “I haven’t seen you at work for three days. Just checking in to make sure you’re okay?”
  • If people work late or cover for you or others, notice and acknowledge what they are doing. Bring them a cup of coffee and let them know you are ready to cover for them in the future.
  • Even if it is people’s job to be there, thank them for coming. 

Show your appreciation of people’s ideas and contributions.

Creating a psychologically safe environment where people openly share ideas and speak up when there is a problem is everyone’s job. Managers and individual contributors alike need to show colleagues that their input is welcome and celebrated.

Leaders can role model how to treat one another by actively seeking and amplifying other people’s ideas, and individual contributors can do the same with their peers. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Managers

  • Nurture a culture of sharing ideas by asking for employee input in each staff meeting.
  • Honor people’s ideas and expertise by talking them up in senior leader meetings: “Maria is actually the one who came up with the idea for this project and has been leading the team to make the result happen!”
  • In meetings, ask quiet, less vocal team members to share input or ideas on projects: “Keshia, what do you think about this? I would love to hear your ideas on the project.”

Individual Contributor

  • When people share input or feedback on a project, whether you like their idea or not, actively listen. Nod along, ask questions, and thank them for sharing.
  • When working on a project, ask others for feedback and ideas on how to improve.
  • Adopt a “Yes, and” mentality when it comes to other people’s ideas. Instead of saying “I disagree,” say, “Yes, and what about…?” and share another idea or addition to their idea.
  • When someone has a great idea that people did not hear, bring it to the attention of others: “I want to bring the attention back to an idea Ethan shared earlier. Ethan, would you mind repeating?”
  • If someone gives you credit for another person’s ideas, direct their praise to the correct person: “Thank you for noticing, but that was all John’s idea! Make sure you let him know, he will love to know you feel this way!”

Show your appreciation of people’s lives outside of work.

Our jobs should help us live our best lives, not take them over. For our employees to feel appreciated, they need to know that we understand their passions, priorities, and responsibilities outside of work.

People need leaders who respect boundaries and role model self care, and coworkers who nurture a culture of support. Here are a few ideas. 

Managers

  • In order to appreciate people’s lives outside of work, you need to know about them. Take the time to ask about your direct reports’ weekends, holidays, and hobbies outside of work. Learn about their families, kids, and what they do for fun.
  • Display work-life balance by having a life outside of work yourself. For example, leave work to go to your kids’ events to show others that balance is encouraged.
  • Avoid scheduling meetings before 9 am and after 5 pm so people are not forced to choose between making the boss happy and living their lives.
  • Avoid sending emails on weekends, late at night, and on vacations.
  • If someone has a major life change — like getting married, having a child, losing a loved one, having surgery, or going through a divorce — ask how you and the team can best support them. Put a note in your calendar to check in a month later. It can make a world of difference to your colleague that you remember.
  • Before making a request at 5 pm on a Friday, think about how the request may impact your employee’s life outside of work. If it can wait until Monday, let it. 

Individual Contributor

  • One of the best ways to support people’s lives outside of work is to always keep them in mind when you’re at work. Every time we fail to deliver on time, show up, or do our tasks, it has an impact on others. When we don’t do our work to the best of our abilities, it means someone else’s work is impacted. The best way to respect people’s lives outside of work is to honor and respect their time at work. Be an extraordinary coworker.
  • Take time to understand your coworkers’ lives outside of work. Ask them about their families, hobbies, and how they spend their time.
  • Nurture a community of support in your office by stepping up for each other when one of you goes on vacation, has a doctor’s appointment, or needs to attend an important event.

Show your appreciation of people’s need for growth and development.

One of the main reasons employees give for leaving jobs is a lack of development opportunities. While many people think development is about promotions and attending trainings, it’s also about being around people who challenge us — managers that take time to understand and support our career goals, and coworkers who help us learn and grow. Give the following a try.

Managers

  • If you don’t already know the career goals and aspirations of your direct reports, take time to understand them. Learn about what skills they want to develop and the kinds of projects they want to be working on. What topics are interesting to them and what kind of role do they see themselves in in five years?
  • Once you know people’s goals, actively find opportunities that can help them develop those skills through stretch assignments, job shadowing, conferences, internal presentations, or challenging projects. Be sure to debrief and help the person link the skills they are developing to the assignment they’re working on.
  • Have regular “stay conversations” to make sure your direct reports feel fulfilled at work and that they are learning and growing in their roles.
  • If your employee has the desire to go back to school or earn professional certification, find ways to help them carve time out in their schedule to take classes.
  • If someone is excelling in their position, and there is no room to move up in your company, help them explore opportunities at other companies. Let them know you will be their reference if they find an opportunity for growth outside of your organization.

Individual Contributor

  • Ask your coworkers for feedback and tips on how you can improve and invite them to do the same with you: “Maria, thank for attending my presentation I would love you’re your input. What are one or two things could I do next time to improve?”
  • Take time to learn about the career goals of the people on your team and find ways to support them to work toward them: “Jon, I am curious what are some of your career goals? Is there anything I can do to support you with the experience and knowledge I have?
  • If you hear about learning opportunities or networking events, or find interesting articles they may help your coworker, share them.
  • When a colleague gets a promotion, celebrate with them. “Hey Vas, I just saw the announcement you were promoted! It made my day to see and just wanted you to know I excited for you.”

Source: Christopher Littlefield, Harvard Business Review

“Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret”. 
– Mary Kay Ash

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

Your Group

This fun, interactive feature helps teams work better together. By combining DiSC with actionable group insights, teams build cohesion while adapting their behaviors for optimal performance. Learners can create multiple groups, plot members on a DiSC map, and shed light on team dynamics that influence results.

4 Ways to Encourage Others at Work…Use Your Words

by | Oct 26, 2020 | Communication, Engagement, Gratitude, Leadership Aha!, Newsletter

The easiest way to have a positive impact on your colleagues is to tell them how much you value them. While supervisors and managers may try to use their words to encourage others, they often don’t do a great job. The good news is, using our words to encourage others is easily done, whether you are working onsite or remotely.

Here are a few simple tips to make your words of encouragement most effective and some common mistakes to avoid:

  1. Be personal and individualized. Statements of encouragement to a team are great, however, they are impersonal. Direct and specific communication to one person makes the affirmation more sincere.
  2. The more specific the better. One of the most common phrases team members don’t want to hear is “good job!”. The phrase is so generic it could be applied to any person at any time. Be sure to tell the employee specifically what you appreciate about them and their work.

Some specific suggestions:

  • Leave an encouraging voicemail.
  • Use sticky notes to write short messages of appreciation.
  • Recognize them during a meeting or conference call and give them an example of something they did well.
  • Tell them why what they did is important to you, the organization, or your clientele. While it may seem obvious why an employee’s work is valuable or desired, they often don’t understand the true impact of their actions. Framing encouragement in light of the big picture can make it more meaningful.
  • Keep in mind that words are not equally important to everyone. In a study with over 100,00 employees, less than 50% want appreciation through words. That tells us that 50% of employees want appreciation in ways other than words. Seek information from your employees regarding how they best experience encouragement and how receptive they are to other avenues of affirmation.

How do you encourage others at work?

Excerpt from Paul White from appreciationatwork.com

Optimism: Your Secret Weapon in 2020!

by | Jan 24, 2020 | Gratitude, Habits, Leadership Aha!, Newsletter

 

As an optimist myself, I know first-hand the power of optimism and the benefits it has on all areas of life.

Highly effective, optimistic leaders have a transforming effect on their teams: they have the gift of being able to convince others that they can achieve levels of performance beyond what they thought possible. They move others from being stuck with “how things are done around here” and help them see “how things could be done better.”

Consider, as well, the reverse. Those who have a pessimistic outlook typically approach changes to the status quo with the familiar: “We tried this before”, “It won’t work”, or “It will never fly.” Such individuals often label themselves as “devil’s advocate.” How can someone who has a pessimistic outlook embrace change over the safety of the known?

Countless studies have shown that people with an optimistic outlook have healthier relationships, enjoy better mental and physical health and live longer.

So, where does optimism come from? Is it something we are born with or is it learned? For some lucky individuals, like me, being optimistic comes naturally. The good news is that, for those who don’t have it naturally, optimism is an attitude that can be learned and practiced. Here are some strategies to consider in your journey to becoming more optimistic or in helping someone else who suffers from pessimism:

  1. Avoid negative environments. If this is not realistic, make every effort to seek the company of positive individuals in your organization.
  2. Celebrate your strengths. The key to high achievement and happiness is to play out your strengths, not correct your weaknesses. Focus on what you do well.
  3. Take care of your spiritual and emotional well-being by reading inspirational material on a daily basis.
  4. Manage or ignore what you cannot change. When faced with setbacks, identify what you can change and proactively try to find ways to do something about it.
  5. Learn to reframe. This involved deliberately shifting perspective and looking for the hidden positive in a negative situation: the proverbial silver lining.
  6. Adapt your language and outlook. Consider how a simple shift in the language you use can make a difference in your outlook: do you frequently say: “yes, but….” in response to your constituents’ suggestions? The “but” automatically negates anything you have said in the beginning part of the sentence. A simple shift to “yes, and…” might make a positive difference.
  7. Focus outside yourself, on important people in your life, on pursuits and projects that fire you up.
  8. Nurture a culture of optimism when you are in charge of other people at work. Expect people to succeed. Even when they occasionally fail to achieve what they set out to do, encourage them so that they can tackle the next challenge. A simple: “I know you’ll do better the next time” can have very positive effects.
  9. Cultivate spontaneity. Getting out of your comfort zone by being spontaneous helps to develop your optimistic muscle, as spontaneity essentially involves an expectation of having a positive experience.

You can do it! Make this part of your growth plan for 2020 and see how contagious your optimism can be! Practice seeing the opportunity.

I would enjoy hearing your stories – connect with us on LinkedIn or email me at robyn.marcotte@ahaleadership.com

Robyn Marcotte

CEO and Founder, Aha! Leadership

Winston Churchill had a reason for saying: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Giving Thanks Will Make You a Better Leader

by | Dec 3, 2019 | Engagement, Gratitude, Leadership Aha!, Leadership Development, Newsletter

For many people, “thanks-giving” is a tradition that happens around the dinner table once a year. But research suggests that leaders should encourage gratitude in the workplace year-round.

The Science of Gratitude:  Gratitude can be defined as a positive emotion felt after receiving something valuable. And science has shown that people who are grateful feel happier. They have an improved sense of well-being, higher self-esteem, experience less depression and anxiety, and they also sleep better.

The Gratitude Gap in the Workplace:  Despite its compelling benefits, expressing gratitude doesn’t always happen at work. A recent Glassdoor survey found that 80% of employees say they would be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss.

So why is there a gratitude gap in the workplace? Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant believes it’s because people don’t like to admit they need help at work, and many believe thanking someone means admitting you couldn’t do it all on your own.

How to Be More Grateful

Ready to reap gratitude’s many benefits? Luckily, you don’t need any fancy tools or advanced degrees. Here are 3 simple exercises that have been scientifically proven to boost your gratitude levels.

  1. Send a note expressing your gratitude. Writing a letter thanking someone for the positive impact he or she has had in your life is a great way to boost your gratitude. Or, send a text, if you prefer. Take out your phone right now (if it’s not out already), and send a simple text to someone you’re grateful to have in your life and let them know that you are thinking of them.
  2. Keep a gratitude journal – or even just a list. Keeping a journal of people and things for which you’re grateful can increase your feelings of gratitude. If you’re not the journaling type, don’t worry; making a short list works, too. Just jot down 3 things you’re grateful for on a Post-It note. Stick it somewhere you’ll see it often, and refresh it weekly.
  3. Take time for reflection. Simply reflecting on the many aspects of your job — large and small — for which you’re grateful can boost gratitude levels. These might include supportive work relationships, sacrifices or contributions that others have made for you, advantages or opportunities, or gratitude for the opportunity to have your job in general. Going on a short “gratitude walk” is a great way to take time out for this reflection.

 How to Increase Gratitude in the Workplace

  1. Offer thank-you cards. During his tenure at Campbell Soup, then-CEO Doug Conant wrote 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes to his employees. This practice, along with others, has been credited with how he created a culture of gratitude and turned around a struggling company. Do 30,000 letters seem daunting? Take a page out of Mark Zuckerberg’s playbook and aim for just one a day. To encourage others to do the same, emulate Starbucks and offer unlimited company thank-you cards for employees to use.
  2. Make a gratitude wall. Create a designated space for employees to share shout-outs and words of thanks. This can be a wall, a whiteboard, a flip chart in a common area…be creative! A public, anonymous display of gratitude is a great way to introduce gratitude into the workplace culture and keep employees feeling appreciated.
  3. Start meetings with gratitude. A simple way to cultivate gratitude at work is to begin meetings by sharing a short statement of appreciation (remember the difference this made in the fundraising center study!). Or, if you want to take this approach to the next level, try having everyone in the meeting share one thing they’re grateful for — it makes a great icebreaker.
  4. When things go wrong, count your blessings. It’s easy to be grateful when things are going well. But gratitude can have an even bigger impact if you’re going through a rough patch. So, next time something goes wrong at work, see if you can find the silver lining. What did you learn from the experience? What opportunity did it offer you? Share these insights with your team. Being able to be truly grateful during times of challenge and change is a great way to stop negative rumination spirals and get people motivated and energized.
  5. Be grateful for people, not performance. Sometimes, gratitude initiatives can feel like old recognition programs warmed over. To avoid this feeling, focus on social worth and think about how people have made a difference. Give thanks for people’s willingness, enthusiasm, commitment, or efforts — not their impact on the bottom line.
  6. Customize your thanks-giving. Practicing gratitude requires thinking about how specific people like to be thanked, and tailoring your gratitude accordingly. Thanking a very shy person at the global quarterly meeting might come across more like punishment than recognition.
  7. Be specific in your gratitude. Saying “thanks for being awesome” doesn’t have the same impact as “thank you for always getting to meetings 5 minutes early to set up the projector; I know that our meetings wouldn’t go as well if we didn’t have you.
  8. Don’t fake it. Authenticity and vulnerability are key parts of gratitude. If you can’t think of anything you’re truly grateful for, don’t try to fake it. Most people can tell when thanks isn’t heartfelt, and fake gratitude is probably worse than none at all.

Lastly, research shows that whether you’re an absolute novice or gratitude guru, everyone can reap the positive benefits of giving and receiving thanks. So, get out there and start encouraging more gratitude in the workplace!

Article Excerpt from the Center of Creative Leadership 2019