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Empathy Within Leadership In Leaders Eat Last By Simon Sinek

Decent Essays

Empathy is being able to understand and share another person’s feelings or emotions. It allows a team to develop trust and understand others. Leaders who express empathy towards their team shows that they truly care about the people within their team.
An example of empathy within leadership would be when both the committee chair and members are understanding and sharing each other’s feelings. For example, if a committee chair is aware that one of his/her member is hosting a big class event that week, the chair would not be putting as much stress on that member for the week. This is both for the well-being of the member and the committee in general. Likewise, the committee members would step up in times where the chair is facing difficulties.
In the book, Sinek shows an example of empathy within leadership through Johny Bravo and his team’s mission. Although he cannot see, Bravo was able to comprehend the anxiety of his team on the ground. He related to the feelings of his men below using a scene from a movie. By understanding and relating to the feelings of those below him, Bravo expressed great empathy towards his team and was able to successfully help his men stay alive.
In Chapter 1 of Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek explains the importance of empathy through a classified mission that occurred on August 16, 2002 in Afghanistan. As twenty-two men travelled through a valley with a “high-value target”, Johnny Bravo and his wingman were flying above thick clouds, ready to

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