Writing about Life in the digital age

How would you describe a superpower in the workplace? Words such as “inspirational,” “influential” and “powerful” would come to mind, but you would rarely think of “empathetic.”

Empathy is a skill which is often overlooked in the workplace. Determined by Frans de Waal as the “social glue that holds human society together,” empathy refers to the awareness of one’s own and other people’s feelings, needs and concerns. Having the ability to be empathetic has been proven to prevent poor morale, misunderstandings and conflicts, consequently enabling a person to build significant and long-lasting relationships with others. Empathy therefore is the underrated key ingredient for both personal and professional success.

Imagine you could have a skill where--in any given conversation with colleagues, clients, or subordinates--you could be keenly aware of, and even experience, their feelings and thoughts.

Sounds like some X-Men-like psychic superpower right? Well, what if I told you that anyone can have this uncanny ability and use its strength and charm to have successful conversations?

Well, you can. The superpower I refer to is called empathy.

But this skill--and it is a learned skill available to anyone--is often misunderstood because there are variations of it. I'll get to the science of it shortly.