"Dad once looked down at the assembly line of women and thought; these are all like my own mom - they have kids, homes to take care of, people who need them' It motivated him to work hard because he saw his own mom in all of them. That's how it all begins-with respect and empathy."

These words, spoken by Bob Galvin former CEO of Motorola, when referring to his Dad, say a lot about what's really important today when hoping to manage and lead others effectively.

Managing others is clearly a complex undertaking and only a fool would argue otherwise.

That said, there are aspects to it which are not so hard to understand.

One of those is the need to empathize with the people you manage.

And particularly, in these turbulent times, I have seen just how important it is for managers to be in-tune with the concerns of their employees.

Okay, that's hardly a new insight; or so you would think, but the reality is that some managers just don't seem to get the empathy thing; sure, it is widely recognised as a vital trait for managers to have, but it is not always there.

And over recent times I have really noticed just how important a trait it is to have in the current climate; as companies are shedding employees, or reducing pay rates to keep costs in line, this creates uncertainty and distress for employees and leaders need to recognize that fact and respond appropriately.

That is NOT to say I am promoting the view that managers should become agony aunts, or be so accommodating as to allow situations to develop where the tail ends up wagging the dog.

Obviously I would never recommend that.

Still, what I think is important is to accept that, in most companies in our industry success and failure is largely determined by the quality and effectiveness of employees. And even more so today, we need to get the best out of each and every one of them; and the first step in getting the best out someone is to try to understand them as an individual.

Or, in other words, to empathize with them.

Some basic tips for empathizing include:

Listen to your people

Again, sounds obvious, but one of the most common complaints I hear from employees is how they feel they are not listened to. In the context of showing empathy, there are two considerations here: first, it is vital to ensure that there are structured opportunities created which allow you to listen to your people. Second, listening is a skill which can be developed to help you improve your ability to retain what is being said, or more importantly, to get behind what is being said to discover the real nub of the issue.

You cannot empathize if you do not listen.

Act on what you learn

Listening without follow-up action, however, is pointless, and actually only serves to fuel disgruntlement.

That said, I do not mean that employees must get their way every time.

What I do mean is that there should always be responses to issues raised; on occasion, this will simply mean explaining why you cannot or will not respond in the way they might want - they may not like the answer, but they will at least feel listened to.

On other occasions, though, they do need to see concrete action being taken which addresses valid concerns. If not, they will stop talking to you about issues that concern them because they see that nothing ever happens as a result.

They must see evidence of empathy in action.

Engage with employees as partners

True empathy - which is consistent and ongoing - can only really be achieved when you genuinely see, and treat, your employees as partners in the business.

Again, seeing people as partners does not diminish the fact that you need them to deliver on expectations; in fact, in my experience, forging a real partnership with your people will actually see those expectations met and indeed exceeded.

And as with any partnership, one of the fundamental building blocks to making it succeed is empathy.

I am a firm believer that there has been a fundamental shift in manager-employee dynamics over the past few years which will only become clearer in the years ahead. To my mind, gone are the days when the predominant thinking is of leader-follower relationships, to be replaced by the leader-partner mindset.

This can seem daunting for some managers, but which would you want? Would you rather your people lined up behind you like lemmings, or would you prefer they saw their own personal goals and those of the business as being one and the same?

Now, I don't pretend that my points here about empathy are magical revelations, nor indeed are they rocket science, but the importance of empathy is certainly being reinforced more and more as we work through the recession.

Enda Larkin has over 25 years experience in the hotel industry having held a number

of senior management positions in Ireland, UK and the US. In 1994 he founded HTC Consulting, a Geneva based firm, which specialises in working with enterprises in hospitality and tourism. Since that time, he has led numerous consulting projects for public and private sector clients throughout Europe and the Middle East. He is author of Ready to Lead? (Pearson/Prentice Hall 2007), How to Run a Great Hotel (How to Books 2009), 'Quick Win' Leadership (Oak Tree Press 2010) and Journeys – Short Stories and Tall Tales for Managers which is due to be published in March 2012. He may be contacted via www.htc- consult.com or at [email protected]. Read his Blog at www.htc-consult.com/new/blog

Enda Larkin
HTC Consulting
+41 (0) 22 700 8675
HTC Consulting