It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to show the world how crucial empathy is in leadership, but even the most cynical now recognize that leading with empathy is directly linked to business success.
Leading with empathy is the right thing to do as a human, a colleague, a manager and an organization.
In a world where managers and leaders are overwhelmed with a bottomless in-box, a calendar that’s chain-smoking meetings and targets that just keep coming (and that’s before adding recovery from a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, racial injustice reckoning, erosion of rights for women and LGBTQ+ people, a mental health crisis, war, climate emergency, remote work stress and more to your plate) it can be all too easy to forget the small stuff.
The bad news? Dissatisfaction with their manager is the #1 reason employees leave their roles.
The good news? The tiniest behavioral changes can make the biggest impact in your reports being engaged, empowered, doing their best work and feeling they belong. Leading with empathy is a business imperative if you want employees being more creative and innovative than you thought possible, attracting other top talent, staying and growing with the company and ultimately delivering better business results.
Over the past 5 years we’ve delivered data-driven workshops to over 30,000 leaders in Tech, from Marketing to Security, Tokyo to Stockholm. From new managers 3 months into their role to tenured multiple-decade leaders. We have surveyed thousands of individual contributors and first-line managers to pin down exactly what behaviors from their managers make them feel included - and excluded. We’ve taken all the data and created a virtual workshop to share the good stuff we’ve learned and remind leaders that the key to happy, motivated teams (even in this time of unprecedented stress) is empathy. Spoiler alert: it really works! After just a few days of practice applying a system of empathy, reports tell us they see genuine changes in their leaders’ behavior, and the changes last (because they’re so EASY).
Initial consultation, optional (but recommended) pre-workshop survey, 60/90/120 min workshops delivered in person or virtually, customizable follow-up sessions. Jargon-free, no-bs time together focused on what behaviors actually drive the sense of belonging that results in employees who produce amazing business results in safe and nurturing environments. See and feel the difference immediately. Bring your attention, your humor, your vulnerability and your very best Zoom/Meet background.
Why does empathy matter in the workplace? What does the data say? How can this become actionable immediately to make you a better and more successful leader? Laugh, cry, ponder, nod (a lot), get ready for some big aha moments and some interactive texting.
Sharing years of anecdotes and experience working with large companies and senior leaders on how to bring more empathy to the workplace, and why that's good for business. Think you've messed up on the empathy front? I bet I can top your worst experience! Empathy is simply dialing into someone else's frequency, so we never stop learning.
Our promise: no buzz words, no mind-numbing corporate blah-ness, and no jargon* - we have empathy for your attention span and bs threshold. This work is about real, practical applications of empathy. Your leadership teams will leave the workshop not with just a vague idea of what to do next, but a real plan.
*Jargon is the enemy of clarity and empathy
Listen to Kerri talk about her empathy work and how it helps foster psychological safety in the workplace, specifically in start-up environments. This session was delivered as part of Google Developers’ Founder Fridays series.
Empathy and Resilience in a Hybrid World, moderated by Kerri as part of #IAmRemarkableWeek. Be ready to nod, smile, laugh and cry as Mari K Eder, Kensa Gunter, PsyD, CMPC, Faisal S. share some remarkable truths. We don't have this hybrid thing completely worked out yet, but if we give everyone a voice we can keep improving.
Listen with empathy
We have empathy for your time management. Podcasts are a great way to soak up some knowledge while multi-tasking. Here are some recent conversations featuring Kerri Jacobs that bring to life just how simple and effective this work is.
Google Marketing Platform Podcast
Managing Made Simple Podcast
99 Humans Podcast