Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse E334 | Respond, don't react! Empathy: a strategic advantage for leaders with Maria Ross
4 snips
Mar 4, 2025 
Maria Ross, a keynote speaker and founder of Red Slice, champions empathy as a strategic advantage in leadership. She discusses how to cultivate empathy while maintaining performance, emphasizing a five-pillar framework: self-awareness, self-care, clarity, decisiveness, and joy. Maria debunks misconceptions around empathy, asserting it fosters effective workplace relationships and culture. They also explore the balance between decisiveness and compassion in decision-making, and the importance of joy in leading high-performing teams, especially in today's evolving workplace.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Empathy: More Than Niceness
- Empathy is often misunderstood as mere niceness or agreement, but it's about perspective-taking.
- It involves understanding another's viewpoint without necessarily having to agree with them, enabling tough decisions with compassion.
Empathy: A Learnable Skill
- Humans are born with empathy; it's a survival trait, not a fixed personality characteristic.
- However, like a muscle, empathy can atrophy if not nurtured and exercised, especially in specific environments.
Self-Awareness for Leaders
- Self-awareness is crucial; identify emotional triggers and blind spots to regulate reactions.
- Take a pause when triggered; ask for the other person's perspective to manage conflict constructively.
