5 Tips for Showing Empathy

Cathie Leimbach • January 25, 2024

Human beings are emotional beings. At work as well as in our personal lives, it is important that we feel respected and noticed as a valuable human being. People feel most valued at work when they have a trusting and supportive relationship with their supervisor and their team members. This includes feeling empathy from others.

Whenever people are troubled, hurting, or dealing with serious problems, they want to feel that others understand what they are going through and are concerned for them. When we show interest and support for a colleague who is facing a tough situation, we are showing empathy. Yet, many find it uncomfortable to reach out to others when they are experiencing difficulties.

Keven Eikenberry offers 5 tips to increase one’s ability to show others that we are concerned for them and wish to understand their situation and their feelings.

  • Lean In – Get close to the person by spending time together or verbally acknowledging you are aware of their tough situation and care about them.
  • Listen – Ask how they are doing or how you could help them, and fully listen to their response. What are their words telling you about their situation? What feelings are they expressing? What is their tone of voice, volume, or talking speed telling you?
  • Look – Focus your eyes on the other person. What are the facial expressions and other body language telling you about their current challenge and how it is impacting them?
  • Let Go – Let go of your ideas about how they could handle their current situation. Don’t take over the sharing time, not even to share details of your similar experience and how you handled it. Help them feel heard. Focus completely on understanding them and their current reality. 
  • Learn – Really learn how the other person feels and how they are responding to their situation. Learn more about them as a person.

Ask questions to show you are interested in learning more. Ask how you could help them.

Once you have used these 5 tips of empathy, the other person will likely feel that you care. If, and only if, their words, tone, and body language show that you have good rapport, you could tell them in one sentence that you have experienced something similar and ask them if they would like you to share what helped you get through it. If they say no, then don’t share. The purpose of your conversation is to show empathy - help them see that you care about them, not for them to listen to you.

Who in your life is going through a tough time just now? When could you support them with the gift of empathy so they know someone cares about them?

Three Small Shifts That Change Everything

By Cathie Leimbach • March 24, 2026
You don’t need to make big changes in your leadership practices to get better results. Often, it’s small shifts in everyday leadership conversations that quietly change how work gets done. Here are three that work: 1. Make priorities clear Start meetings by stating current priorities. That creates focus right away and helps conversations stay on topic. 2. Ask instead of solve Instead of answering an employee’s questions, ask, “What are your suggestions?” Such questions encourage employee thinking and stronger follow-through. 3. Hold short monthly one-on-one check-ins Meeting with each employee one-on-one allows the regular review of goals, progress, and obstacles. These short conversations surface issues early and keep everyone aligned. These small habits keep teams steady and focused. Your challenge this month: Pick one shift and try it. Notice what changes in clarity, buy-in, or accountability. Sometimes the difference between teams that struggle and teams that move smoothly comes down to a few simple leadership conversations happening consistently. 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation on March 30th at 3:00 PM to see how small shifts in everyday leadership conversations can quickly improve clarity, ownership, and results.

From Performance Problems to Possibilities

By Cathie Leimbach • March 17, 2026
Most leaders can list what’s wrong fast: missed deadlines, uneven effort, or teams that seem capable of more. The bigger shift happens when leaders stop asking, “What’s broken?” and start asking, “What’s possible if we lead differently?” Limits like time, budget, and pressure are common. The resulting overwhelm is reduced when leaders get clear about what really matters. Strong leaders respond to these limits by focusing on priorities, simplifying decisions, and actively guiding their teams. Often, the shift begins with better leadership conversations. The right conversations clarify expectations, surface issues early, and help people take ownership before small problems grow into bigger ones. When leaders create space for clear, honest dialogue, teams stop guessing and start moving forward. Performance improves when leaders: Get clear instead of assuming Address issues early through direct conversations Set priorities people can follow Notice and praise progress, don’t comment only on mistakes These small, steady choices create momentum. We often hear questions like: “How do we stop reacting?” “What if our team is capable but inconsistent?” “How do we improve without burning people out?” Those questions point to opportunities for growth. Don’t think of them as failure. 👉 Where might your team be guessing instead of knowing? Identify one gap—and use your next conversation to close it.