The limits of empathy / Adam Waytz

"Empathy is all the rage pretty much everywhere. It's touted as a critical leadership skill, one that helps you influence others in your organization, anticipate stakeholders' concerns, respond to social media followers, and even run better meetings. But it has its limits. Empathy taxes us mentally and emotionally, and can even impair our ethical judgment. It's also a finite resource: The more we spend on one person or group, the less we have left for others. Expecting employees to continually drain their reserves can impair individual and organizational performance. Managers can prevent the ill effects of empathy and promote the good by using a few simple strategies. First, have people focus on certain sets of stakeholders, rather than asking them to understand and empathize with anyone and everyone. Second, help them meet others' needs in ways that also address their own so that they don't end up feeling depleted by every interaction. And third, give them empathy breaks, where they focus strictly on their own personal needs, to allow them to replenish their reserves."

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