Empathy And Trust In Management: A Literature Review

Literature Review

Discuss about the Empathy and Trust in Management.

The purpose of this report is to examine, comprehend and explore the terms empathy and trust and subsequently develop critical abilities in the process of managing people with these two terminologies as the basis. It clearly outlines the main theories, models and their respective application in respect to empathy and trust in management.

The two terminologies as selected for literature analysis have divergent implications but both stem from the same idea. Empathy implies to the ability to feel and relate to the way others think, experience emotions (Psycholawgy, 2016). Apparently, empathy can be construed to be more serious than sympathy- the ability to comprehend and offer support to others. In other words, empathy refers to the ability to sense and feel what our friends are feeling as well as what they need. For leaders it means that one is able to realize and appreciate employee feelings and reservations, appreciate them even if they are divergent with their observations, which leads to long term success of any organization.  Good and effective leaders are characterized by being good listeners, nonjudgmental and emotionally intelligent. 

Contextually, for instance in the workplace, it can be exhibited by expressing respect for fellow workers or subordinates. It involves making them know that you care a lot about them, which is in fact against the rules and regulations that define the terms of engagement (Psycholawgy, 2016).  Leaders who apply the empathetic style of leading their staff and subordinates, ensure that every individual worker feels like part of the team thus significantly increasing the level of productivity and the overall organizational prosperity as a result of enhanced loyalty and morale. Actually empathy is an instrumental element for an admired and respected executive (David, 2015).

For instance, nurses have curved a reputation of being the most respected professionals out of their empathetic nature while attending to patients. They always ensure that their clients feel safe and secure. Empathetic leaders like the staff they are leading, enjoy helping whenever necessary and also value them as individuals.  When the executives comprehend the staff they are leading, they engender a closer link. This link leads to increased trust which subsequently leads to positive engagement between them (David, 2015).
Apparently, for empathy to exist there must be three elements in place namely listening, understanding and openness. Empathetic individuals tend to listen in an attentive manner to each otherwhile putting emphasis and focus on whoever is in from putting their complete focus on the person talking to them to avoid getting distraction (Business Balls, 2013).  They are likely to spend more time listening than talk since they intend to grasp and understand the tribulations of others as it will enable them feel recognized and appreciated.

Theories and Models Explaining Trust and Empathy

Managers and executives who are empathetic know that the way they relate with their staff is determinant on the level of success the business is likely to achieve. As a result they are ever open and understanding the kind of reactions and emotions that their employees exhibit. They are also able to analyze employee reservation subjectively to arrive at a common ground. Equally at the workplace, members who understand each other’s feeling are more likely to foster the spirit of team work while handling better the challenges they face. It makes them feel safe from their undoing since they are less likely to be faulted for them. It makes the group or team leaders to figure out the chief source of any problem that affects performance quality. It also provides bosses with the means of helping their struggling staff to catch up with the rest and move to the next level of excellence together with their peers.

Empathy forms the basis for handling a plethora of workplace problems like failures and minimal performance. Therefore, leaders are expected to handle their workers empathetically since it will facilitate faster growth in their organizations. Despite this positive implication of adopting empathy to organizational management, it is a pity that most corporates rarely do utilize it. This is simply because demonstrating it requires concerted efforts and time to fully exhibit it.  Also, it is hard to understand employee behavior on a regular basis based on their behavior in give situations. It is extremely challenging for managers to put the interest of the workers’ feeling ahead of organization objectives due to the nature of competition in all industries. This is due to the fact that nowadays most organizations are more interested in making the ends meet regardless of the means and employee feelings (Emoticon, 2014).

However despite this situation good and productive leaders are expected to possess the ability to go around their business by actively working contrary to the excuses of excluding empathy from organization management. By so, doing they will definitely increases chances of their companies upstaging their competitors. This will help them to set the right tone as well as approach for their employees while striving to achieve organizational goals.  As coined by Theodore Roosevelt, employees will only care for organizational welfare if the organizational management expresses care for their feelings. Failure to do this workers will feel alienated, despised and neglected by their seniors in the administrative hierarchy which will ultimately lead to eventual organizational downfall (Emoticon, 2014).

Application of Diagnostic Tools

On the face of it, empathy is instrumental to sound leadership and is determinant on the level of trust that is exhibited by all stakeholders in the organization’s structure. If employees do not trust their supervisors, then these supervisors fail to qualify to be named leaders but fall under the category of managers.  Empathy forms the foundation of trust in organizational management. When managers show concern for their employees feelings and subsequently appreciate them even when they don’t agree with them, for sure boost the degree of trust between the two sides (Emoticon, 2014).  Employees feel safe when they know that their seniors will consider their reservations even if they do not concur with them. The managers can use the employee reservations to help them move to the next level which will only strengthen the link between them hence an increased collaborative spirit and organizational performance. Failure to nurture trust will only erode the gains of any strategy that was previously tailored to achieve this effect.

While exercising trust and empathy and trust in organizational management and development, the following theories form the fulcrum for the posited views by various scholars in prevailing literature. One’s ability to comprehend another person’s thinking or feelings forms the basis of empathy and trust.

The Simulation theory posits that empathy is a reality since whenever we witness another individual going through a flurry of emotions we tend to simulate the same sort of emotions within ourselves to enable us to get firsthand what it is like (Bruna, 2015).   Apparently, there is evidence – mirror neurons- in man the triggers when we observe and experience actions or emotions parts in the brain that take care  higher-level sorts of thought that exhibit overlap in activation that affects both the self-focused and other-focused thoughts and convictions. Intuitively, this theory makes sense since apparently for one to fully understand another’s feelings, they will first have to pretend that they were in a similar situation. However, the Simulation Theory is subject to testing for proof its existence in the mind.

Various theories have been put forward to explain the basis of trust between two individuals as explained below.According to the Benjamin Franklin Effect, when a person does another a favor, they tend to like them than the perceived outcome. This is due to the fact that we tend to justify what we do personally that we did them a favor since we liked them. Benjamin himself put forward that. ‘‘He that has once treated you kindly will be more willing to do you another favor than the one who you have yourself obliged.’’In such a scenario the reverse is true since we tend to dislike the victims. This can help us to find the basis for battle time atrocities. In most times we feel that our enemies are not human (Janos, 2014). Subsequently, this increases the dissonance to kill as well as other things that it could be difficult to do in normal circumstances. This tool helps us to find the foundation for solving workplace problems since if we are to achieve positive of results, we must find ways of liking our fellow employees and juniors since the opposite of it will lead to swindling organizational fortunes.

The Communication Accommodation theory posits that, when one person talks to another, they tend to their style of speech articulation like accent type and rate of words subconsciously to imitate the listener. The same can also be said of the nonverbal cues. This is an indication of liking and a good rapport (Bonnie, 2013).  This leads this increased approval and collaboration in any endeavor. However in some circumstances this is construed to be inappropriate as most people think of it as aping and being greatly unfamiliar. The reverse is also true since individuals tend to deliberately exert their identity through speaking and acting in a different manner from their counterparts.

Emotional Intelligence; EQ-i 2.0

This tool is used to evaluate emotional intelligence-social and emotional skills that determine the way we encode messages and express ourselves, as well as developing and maintaining social links with those around us. It is helpful in figuring out an individual’s overall welfare and whether they are capable of achieving success in life. The EQ-i 2.0 test involves a 1-5-15 factor structure which a one total score that is broken down into five composite scores. These scores are further broken down into 15 subscales. The well-being indicators serves as an additional feature. It facilitates measuring the level of happiness and self-respect, how optimistic one is, the link in interpersonal links and self-actualization among persons.  Its subsequent report shows the score regarding happiness. By using this tool I can predict how individuals attach value to the kind of relationship they have with others (Stein & Book, 2011).

The Locus of Empathy in EQ-i 2.0 Model

This tools help in finding definitions regarding “People Skills” it encapsulates three scales namely Social responsibility, empathy and interpersonal relationships.  According to this tool individuals with Persons higher Interpersonal EI within this real are deemed to possess commendable social skills.  They exhibit responsibility and are dependable. The easily establish good links with others (Josey &Wiley, 2009). They are also open and sociable and ten to maintain high level relationships.  They are productive in collaborative engagements as a result. The opposite is true for those who measure lowly in this scale. This tool is important in appointing good leaders.

This tool facilitates identification of the efficiency of leaders in an organization. This helps companies to select qualified leaders who can drive a company’s goals it helps organizations gauge its leaders’emotional intelligence which is critical to decision making (Josey &Wiley, 2009).

Management of an organization need a good amount of time since it involves engaging different sorts of people. In order to incorporate empathy and trust into the entire organizational structure, I will have to concentrate on the various quarters the constitute the organization. To start with I will work with smaller groups like selected teams. Most important is to lead by example (Business Balls, 2013).  This can be achieved by trusting my employees in any capacity they are operating as well as demonstrating the highest degree of competency and professionalism (Olof, 2014).By exhibiting this they will be able to trust my leadership and subsequently do same to their fellows and senior management. During this period, I will be able to guide teams regarding the matter of empathy and trust through applying the most suitable models and plans.

Conclusion

Generally, empathy and trust work hand in hand since one leads to the other. This implies that absence of empathy definitely leads to lack of trust. Thus organizational leaders have to find the best way to maintain the two if they are to stand a chance of sustaining the prosperity of their organizations. 

References

Psycholawgy. (2016). Emotional Intelligence, Lawyers, and Empathy-Using the Power of Listening With Care to Build Better Professional Relationships and Satisfy Clients. Management Journal.

David, G. (2015). Where The Empathic Mind Expands. Empathic Perspectives.

Retrieved on 10 October 2016 from: empathicperspectives.blogspot.nl/2016/04/trust-empathy.html?m=1

Bonnie, M. (2013). Empathy: The Basis for Building Relationships of Trust and Influence.

Women Success Coaching.  Retrieved on 10 October 2016 from: womensuccesscoaching.com/2013/12/empathy-the-basis-for-building-relationships-of-trust-and-influence/

Janos, P. (2014). Communication in Crisis: Trust and Empathy. Organizational Expert.

Retrieved on 10 October 2016 from:tarsadalominformatika.elte.hu/tananyagok/communicatioincrisis/lecke6-lap1.html

Bruna, M. (2015). What’s Empathy Got to Do With It? Mind Tools. Retrieved on 10 October  2016 from:www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR-75.html

Morris, T. (2010). Using Empathy and Trust for Organizational Management. Columbia Press.

Emoticon. (2014). Empathy and Trust in Communication. PCCS Research.

Retrieved on 10 October 2016 from:www.paccsresearch.org.uk/research/research-portfolio/emoticom;empathy-and-trust-incommunication-online/  

Business Balls. (2013). Empathy, Trust, Diffusing Conflict and Handling Complains. Business Balls. Retrieved on 10 October 2016 from:www.businessballs.com/empathy.html

Davis, B. (2011). Empathy and Trust. Chicago Press

Martin, G. (2009). Solving Organizational Problems Empathetically while Building Trust. Chicago Press.

Gladys, T. (2008). Building Trust Between Management and Staff in Organizational Management. Toronto Press.

Olof, M. (2014). Building a Culture of Empathy. Harvard Medical School.

Ivey, A.E. & Ivey, B.I. (2007). Intentional Interviewing and Counseling: Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society.Toronto Press.

Thomson, B. (2010).Integrating Listening Skills. Harvard Medical School.

Stein, S.J., Book, H.E. (2011). The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success (3rd Ed.).Josey, B. &Wiley, J. (2009). Model and Alignment: Workplace Report .Multi-Health Systems Inc.