Dr. Peter Sear: What Elite Sport Teaches Us About Empathic Leadership

Athletes & legendary coaches from sport are often cited by leaders to motivate, inspire, & pull together as a team. But how many leaders actually practice & use the skills these high-achievers leverage to be successful? In today's sports landscape, coaches who have embraced emotional intelligent approaches are scoring points & building dynasties. And corporate leaders have a lot to learn from them.

Today, Dr. Peter Sear & I talk about how sport leadership has changed & become more empathic over the last two decades - thus attracting a different kind of leader. We discuss how coaches manage empathic relationships & get the balance of "close but not too close" right. Peter also shares the concept of Empathic Accuracy & tips for how to help your team build empathy among each other.

To access the episode transcript, please click on the episode title at www.TheEmpathyEdge.com 

Key Takeaways:

• It is important to find & keep the balance between coach & athlete. It is also important to maintain relationships between all players, not just one or two. The same thing goes for employers & employees. 
• Nothing beats getting to know someone on a human level - it is not about the favorites form that someone has filled in. 
• In modern workplaces, it is important that leaders model & show empathy to their teams. That has to start with awareness & shoring up their own empathy skills. 

"The ‘my way or the highway’ approach that coaches often used to apply just doesn't work with athletes of this generation. They've got different expectations and different powers." —  Dr. Peter Sear

About Dr. Peter Sear, Founder Empathic Minds

I started off as a Futures Floor Trader, trading sugar futures in London for five years. I traveled before going to University at 23, to study psychology. That led to my first Masters degree, during which I opened a property company with my parents. I continued to study, getting another Masters, in Jung, & learning some neuroscience. My PhD was at Loughborough (the best University in the world for sport related research!). Since then, I've written for Psychology Today, The World Financial Review among others. I now help coaches, leaders, organizations, consultancies, & individuals learn about the powers of empathy & how to develop them. 

Connect with Dr. Peter Sear:  

The Empathic Minds Organisation: EmpathicMinds.org

Book: Empathic Leadership: Lessons from Elite Sport

X: @DrPeterSear

LinkedIn: Dr Peter Sear

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