Introduction
Throughout the years we have seen significant changes in “Corporate America,” changes that have seriously impacted those in the workplace and consumers as well. It is a dog eat dog world out there due to the economic stresses of today. This daily struggle to survive in the workplace has affected the lives of everyone involved as interpersonal skills are declining especially among company executives. Are academic institutions to blame for this obvious lack of concern for others in the workplace? It has been suggested in the following studies that higher level education is lacking in regard to the study of emotional intelligence and empathy within their business leadership programs. Empathy is defined as, “the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else's feelings,” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). Emotional intelligence and empathy will be observed throughout this paper as a result of two separate studies, each were conducted with regard to leadership. Please note that the first article focuses on these issues through a secularist worldview while the second article embraces a Christian worldview. Although the issues are the same, the methodologies are somewhat different.
Description of Article - 1
The first study will be presented in two parts; 1.) Foundational research on empathy in leadership, 2.) Opinions formed from a different group based on the outcome of the first study. This two-part study has been conducted among business students throughout a period of three years and serves to discover why empathy is not an essential part of leadership today. Also incorporated in this article are other literature-based reflections that concur with ...
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... love your neighbor as yourself,” (www.biblegateway.com/NIV, 2011). The only command higher than this is that you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. God values the feelings and emotions of all humanity, likewise, we should as well.
References
Gliebe, S. K. (2012). Strategies to Foster Emotional Intelligence in Christian Higher Education. Christian Higher Education, 253-259.
Marques, S. H. (2012). Empathy in Leadershjip: Appropriate or Misplaced? An Empirical Study on a Topic that is Asking for Attention. Journal of Business Ethics , 105:95-105.
Merriam-Webster, I. (2014). Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy
www.biblegateway.com/NIV. (2011). Retrieved from Bible Gateway: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A12&version=NIV
Leaders who treat their employees with fairness, honesty, and provide frequent, accurate information are seen as more effective. According to Robbins and Judge (2014), “trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership and followers who trust a leader are confident their rights and interest will not be abused” (p.193). The old General Motor Corporation had eleven different CEO’s from 1923 until 2009 each with their own unique leadership style, which directed employees toward the organization goals. Unfortunately, many of the top level managers under the CEO’s had the tendency of filtering out information that did not match up with their pre-conceived notions about a particular issue and they lacked upward communication. One consumer goal of General Motors was to build trust in the company so people would be repeat customers, but building trust between employees and establishing an ethical culture was not a top priority of the organization. Goal directed leadership alone is important, but differs from a structure of leadership based on ethics. It is important to note, that effective leadership may not be the same as leadership founded on ethical principles. Business competence must exist, along with personal leadership accountability in ethical decisions. Within the General Motors organization, ethics and leadership did not interconnect; there were misalignment between the
Dr. Richards develops the claim about the importance of loving your neighbor by first writing about his personal anecdote. He talks about how he began to understand the patterns in the Bible, which was “God’s abiding concern for the poor,” and how God awaits us to be concerned about the poor. By stating those patterns, the author emphasizes the importance of caring for the poor. Then, he inserts evidences to support his claim about God’s concern using some Bible verses such as Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:30-35; the author uses these two verses to explain how “love your neighbor as yourself” is
Empathy, is a self-conscious characteristic human beings hold that allows them to understand another individual’s situation and feelings (Segal, Cimino, Gerdes &Wagaman, 2013). In regard to ho...
The interactive process between leaders and followers involves utilizing listening and communication skills (Northouse,2013). Leaders in servant leadership listen first and use empathy to better understand their followers. Empathy is the ability to better understand an individual by placing yourself in their shoes. Having this ability allows the follower to feel validated and worthy (Northouse, 2013). by finding solutions to personal problems a follower may have, is offering support. Awareness, or emotional intelligence, is another trait a servant leader possesses. Leaders must be aware of how their actions affect their followers. This can be how they dress or their correspondence in an email Northouse, 2013).
What can we say about leadership? Leadership is a concept, way of life, and aspect of continuous evolution. Trying to narrow down or pinpoint an exact definition to be applied to this term is non-existent. Rather you can only apply certain aspects of this term to better understand it. The area which I will go into is “how situational leadership coincides with empathy as far as generating a successful or non-successful leader.”
In Orson Scott Card’s science fiction novel “Ender’s Game,” the themes of effective and ineffective leadership are explored through the lens of Ender Wiggin, as he navigates the challenges of command in a futuristic world threatened by an alien invasion. Through Ender’s journey, the novel offers valuable insights into what constitutes effective leadership, the qualities of a good leader, and the pitfalls that can undermine leadership effectiveness. One of the most significant lessons in “Ender’s Game” is that effective leadership often requires empathy and understanding. Despite being a brilliant strategist, Ender’s greatest strength lies in his ability to empathize with others, including his teammates and adversaries. He grasps the importance of knowing his enemy, as evidenced by his observation: “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love
Emotions are frequent companions in our lives. They come and go, and constantly change like the weather. They generate powerful chemicals that create positive and negative feelings, which have a powerful effect on leadership. Some emotions can either facilitate leadership, while others can detract from successful leadership. This course, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, has truly opened my eyes to the affects that emotions have on being an effective leader. Peter Salovey and John Mayer defined emotional intelligence as “the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (p. 5). This definition in itself states that emotions, whether it be ones own emotions or those of others, is the underlying factor that directs the actions of a leader. Therefore, throughout the progression (advancement) of this course, I have learned the importance of the development of emotional intelligence for being an effective leader, and because of this I plan on developing the capacities that contribute to being an emotionally intelligent leader for my own success, now and in the future.
Great leadership doesn’t necessarily come from what you do, but instead from how you do it. According to Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee 's (2013) book, Primal Leadership, this "how" of a great leader comes through the heart or emotions. If leaders fail at driving emotions in the right direction, nothing they do, even if they get everything else just right, will be as successful as it could or should be (p. 3). This goes against many of the preconceptions of good leadership. I have always been shown that "good" leaders keep their emotions at bay and lead through intellect devoid of emotion because emotions can distort reality. However, the emotional task of the leader, according to Goleman et al.,
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40, AV]
There is an importance of leaders to first analyze the impact of their emotional manifestation. Leaders should own emotional intelligence. Those leaders that don’t possess emotional int...
The first topic that I want to touch on is the idea of academic intelligence having little to do with emotional life. Goleman states that, “Emotional intelligence is the ability to motivate oneself, persist in the face of frustrations, regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think.” I feel that academic intelligence gives you no preparation for the turmoil and opportunities that life brings. The funny thing is that our schools and our culture are still fixated on our academic abilities. Even though emotional intelligence is a new concept, the information that does exist suggests it can be as powerful as I.Q. Instead, we should acknowledge emotional intelligence as a set of traits that can matter immensely on our person...
Empathy is the most fundamental trait of human beings. The world runs on the shared understanding of suffering and happiness. Empathy helps human beings create a safe and nurturing society because it promotes the understanding of needs of others. According to me, empathy is the most important quality of a leader. Hence, it is my belief that every single person has a potential to be a leader as long as she/he is able to relate to others and their situations.
Mark 12:30-31; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
The important of leadership and ethics issues are two concepts that are interrelated linked with an organizational environment. Ultimately, all stakeholders of an organization want their leaders and organizations to be ethically sound. Bazerman & Tenbrunsel, (2011). Having exercise the power and influence given to leaders over their followers, ethics practice will be critical to the process of leadership. Northouse, (2013). Ciulla (2004) argued that to achieve “good leadership,” leaders must be morally sound and as such, “ethics lies at the heart of leadership studies” (p. 18). Similarly, followers expect their leaders to be honest and ethical (Northouse, 2013). Honesty
Myers, L. L. & Tucker, M. L. (2005). Increasing Awareness of Emotional Intelligence In A Business Curriculum. Business Communication Quarterly, 68, pp. 44-50.