| | FEBRUARY 20209BEING EMPATHETIC IS AN ESSENTIAL TRAIT THAT CAN ANCHOR AN ORGANISATION AND HELP ITS EMPLOYEES ADAPT TO CHANGE AND DISRUPTIONarea of growing interest in the field of leadership studies. Being empa-thetic is an essential trait that can anchor an organisation and help its employees adapt to change and disruption. Empathy allows leaders to become an ally to their teams and helps them manage the human aspect of transformation. During transformational processes within an organisation, the human aspect is often overlooked in favour of the technical changes that are taking place, with a focus on upskilling and digitisation. However, manag-ing the workforce is as important as managing the technical aspects. This becomes the defining factor for certain incumbent firms who are more successful in their trans-formation journeys than others.Empathy is arguably one of the most important and often over-looked tool in a leader's arsenal. In the convoluted web of people man-agement, it is the locus of trust and morale. In my experience, I have found trust and morale to be criti-cal in driving a high-performance culture, and this is especially true during the times of transformation. When organisations undergo tech-nological transformations, there is often an environment of fear and uncertainty ­ known inhibitors of productivity and performance. For employees to embrace resistance to change, it is essential that they trust their leader to guide them in the right direction. As leaders, we have a shortage of time on our hands and lack the liberty or flexibility to reas-sure each individual in our teams/organ-isations. Therefore, it is important that we build a culture of trust and transpar-ency. As the chief fi-nancial officer (CFO) of a leading profes-sional services firm, I oversee a mammoth team ­ many of whom I don't have the oppor-tunity to interact with daily. How then do I go about establishing trust and transparency in this new era of digitisation? The answer is simple ­ engagement. Being empa-thetic doesn't mean just feeling and living the change along with your team, but also being your team's friend, philosopher and guide. In-vesting the time to build strong relationships and a sense of com-munity with your team is critical to establishing trust and transparency. Empathetic leaders not only craft a strong narrative, but also create pathways for their team, invest in upskilling, and instil confidence in their team to undertake the journey ahead of them. Micromanagement is another key to building trust within an or-ganisation. Throughout my pro-fessional experience, I have always believed that micromanagement is the enemy of trust. Leaders cannot empower their teams if they do not trust them to take accountability for their work. Letting teams han-dle work by themselves, especially amidst organisation-wide transfor-mations, can seem like a daunting idea. However, after equipping the teams with the appropriate training and development necessary to up-skill them for the tasks at hand, it is important to give them space to adapt to these changes. Over time, the bal-ance between dis-ruption and displace-ment will reach a new equilibrium, as new roles will emerge to replace those which have become re-dundant. While or-ganisations strive to achieve that delicate balance, leaders who mi-cromanage their teams risk leaving them behind Many firms that undergo a digi-tal transformation are unable to deal with the challenges that come with it. In my experience, true success in the pursuit of transformation comes from a leader's ability to guide their team through the uncertainty and fear that come with change. Empa-thetic leaders who can encourage their teams to embrace new chang-es and upskill themselves to thrive in the changing environment will be successful. Leaders shouldn't ne-glect the human side of transforma-tion in favour of the technical one. While we tend to approach change pragmatically and systematically, calculating the quantifiable factors and financial outcomes of change, it is ultimately the people who can drive the change to success. Making transformation a collective agenda by turning people into champions of change is the key to leadership during times of disruption. Yogesh Sirohi
< Page 8 | Page 10 >