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?

What If Your Biggest Performance Problem Isn’t What You Think?

By Cathie Leimbach • May 5, 2026
What If Your Biggest Performance Problem Isn’t What You Think? When CEOs think about risk, they often focus on: Market shifts Operational issues Financial exposure But one of the biggest performance problems is far less visible: Low trust inside the organization. Nearly 30% of employees say they don’t receive clear, honest, or consistent communication from leadership. Over time, that creates doubt—about expectations, personal performance, and priorities. Employees begin to feel that their job is at risk because they aren’t getting any positive feedback. They question whether they have the tools, training, and support needed to do their jobs well. When they only hear about changes at work through the rumor mill, they feel information is being held back. And when that happens: Alignment drops Speed slows Assumptions increase Execution fractures “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” — Stephen R. Covey Trust isn’t soft. It’s a leading indicator of performance. When trust is strong: Decisions move faster Teams align quicker Change sticks When trust is weak: Everything takes longer Everything costs more And here’s the reality : Trust-building conversations are not a common leadership strength today. Yet leaders like Ken Blanchard, Stephen M.R. Covey, and David Horsager all point to the same conclusion—these are not optional skills. They are required for performance in today’s environment. Which means trust gaps are rarely about effort. They’re about conversation skills. A question to consider: Where might low-trust leadership behaviors—not lack of effort—be quietly slowing your organization down? Join Cathie Leimbach and a small group of leaders for a 45-minute Leadership Conversation – Workforce Challenges on Tuesday, May 12 at 3:00 PM ET. If trust is impacting speed, alignment , or execution in your organization, this conversation is for you. Register here Limited to a small group.

The Culture Problem Most Leaders Don’t See—Until It Shows Up in Results

By Cathie Leimbach • April 28, 2026
Most CEOs don’t wake up worrying about culture. They’re focused on growth, margins, execution. But culture quietly determines all three. Because when people feel disconnected, something subtle happens: Execution slows Ownership drops Problems surface later—and cost more Nearly a third of employees describe their workplace as isolated or impersonal. That’s not just a morale issue. That’s an execution risk . And employees don’t “love” a company because of perks. They stay committed when they feel valued. When that’s missing: Effort becomes transactional Communication becomes minimal Discretionary effort disappears The data is clear—when employees feel valued: Attendance improves Conflict decreases Productivity rises This is where many organizations misfire. They try to fix culture with initiatives. But culture is shaped in daily leadership interactions —not programs. And most leaders haven’t been trained to have regular meaningful conversations. They have been promoted to people leadership positions yet not prepared for their new roles. When untrained leaders don’t get topnotch results, it’s not due to a gap in effort or potential. It’s due to a current gap in ability. What can you do about it? Where might your workplace culture be quietly affecting execution—even if performance still “looks okay”? 👉 Join our next 45-minute Leadership Conversation— Workforce Challenges . We’ll explore how culture impacts performance—and what leaders can actually do about it.