There is a lot of talk about empathy as a leadership trait. Empathy is thus primarily located in the process of communication between people. However, empathy has another, essential dimension, which also places it at the center of strategy development.

We are now increasingly and acceleratingly confronted with non-linear dynamics – be it in the markets, in the global political situation, in the needs of the customer groups relevant to us, in social developments, to name but a few. Our cognitive analytical tools for describing this reality and its future (even near future) developments are no longer sufficient for predicting and guiding in these dynamic non-linear systems prone to disruptive events. The high degree of interconnectedness with its upsurging, circling dynamics within our communication streams sets limits to dominantly rationally oriented strategy work.

As a necessary supplement, the ability to empathize is required not only of single individuals, but of social systems, be it companies, administrations, NGO’s, religious organizations, generally of all social systems. Empathy is here the ability to feel resonance patterns of our direct and indirect environment, in short we need the empathy ability of a collective. In addition to open internal communication and reducing value judgments, the empathic resonance capacity towards a dynamic environment can only succeed if the collective is diverse – encompassing all criteria of the diversity perspective, if possible.

SYNNECTA’s work with groups has always aimed at the development of collective empathic capacity and has been further strengthened in recent years around the open experience of always given diversity. However, the still large homogeneity of leadership groups sets a limit to the ability to resonate with non-linear dynamics and thus also narrows the strategy work.

Empathy is not a separate perception ability; rather, it is the ability to interpret analogue communication expressions and thus also understand the emotional message in the midst of busy factual information. This requires interaction. The open spaces for interaction, as realised in the new office concepts, create opportunities for interaction – they are low-threshold and can happen spontaneously. Here, there are brief moments of leisure in which empathic perception can occur and in which – this is the second side of the empathic manager – one’s own empathic understanding can also be expressed.

Now, especially today, when opportunities for interaction are severely restricted, people need empathetic encounters – they convey what is most important for our stability: I am being noticed.

We are currently working with our customers to create digital meeting spaces that are not about pushing forward topics and tasks, but rather about conveying care, relationship and attention. Especially for department heads and group leaders, we are helping to set up weekly virtual »stand-ups« or digital coffee breaks that are not primarily about topics, but about the emotional presence of the manager. This empathetic »presence« will become even more important in the coming weeks, once the stimulating appeal of the new has worn off.