Leading with Empathy

11/03/2025

Empathy isn't being nice to others, it's the most fundamental skill need to lead effectively, and make decisions which matter.

Mr. G 's reflection here came from not one but two highly respected heads of state.

Not an answer I wanted to hear, but a priceless reflection on leadership.
My radar this week: Former Polish PM and EU President Jerzy Buzek
They say that the highest form of leadership is not defined by a title, but by the unspoken respect of those you lead. This guy has both! 😆
Every
Single
Pole
I've spoken to has firmly shared high praise
Given the successful voting results for his PM and President positions, I asked him how to build unity in leadership in times like these.
Without skipping a beat, he said "I don't know".
I asked again, slightly rephrased.
Now he phrases it slightly differently, "We don't know".
He looks at me patiently as I:
1) Process the frustration at his answer
2) Then realising he was being sincerely honest with me
3) Then started processing the nuance in his second response
He kindly waited for my mental washing machine to stop spinning.
I thanked him, snapped this pic and he moved on.
Here's my mental washing below:
Firstly, wisdom from Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's Founding Father came to mind:
Deeply understanding/ empathising with the people you're leading is fundamental to great decision-making.
He was famous for reminding non-Singaporean audiences that he wasn't of their country, despite being repeatedly asked what he would do in India, Philippines, Malaysia etc. etc.
He would say, "I don't know, I'm not Indian"
He fielded questions the same way when asked about navigating the new Singapore after his retirement. That these were challenges for the next generation of leaders.
His clarity on being honest with what you know is lost in today's world of 'leaders' and influencers.
We must:
1) Be sure of what we say, especially in public
2) Refrain from reacting too quickly and making decisions on poor intel
It was a growth moment for me.
What I observed is that Jerzy is highly empathetic.
He was the only speaker to look at the audience, see that 90% of them were Polish, and immediately swapped his prepared speech in English to Polish.
Somehow, he was still 'eloquent', 'gentle', and 'deeply insightful', I was told.
Meeting him lit a fire under my a**.
To better communicate, think and lead.
Thank you for putting us together Krzysztof Bulski

21/08/2024

Empathy isn't about putting yourself in the shoes of others, it's recognising that we'd still see, feel, think and come to different conclusions as they would at that time, in that situation.

That's why we need to channel deep curiousity to observe, ask and believe what they're saying.

12/08/2024

Do you have some big decisions to make?

Use these three simple steps to channel your intuition, depending on your mindfulness and space, this could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.

If you can make a better decision that will save you many hours later, this is definitely worth doing. You'll feel lighter and execute better after offloading all that 'top soil'.

Try it out or let us know about your decision-making process below

23/04/2024

It's a privilege for our programme to bring leadership and corporate governance guidance to the 13 Startup Founders for the Grow AI Accelerator.

Grow AI is powered by INCO Academy. Supported by Google for Startups EU. With funding from Google.org

We're officially year 1 in the ai era.

From workforce redundancies, to enormous corporate savings, to life-saving and humanity-progressing solutions, the uncertainty, excitement, fear and hope is palpable. It's real now.

We must channel exceptional leadership and governance, rooted in human values such as empathy, to ensure we develop ai in a format that serves us. Humans.

I'm privileged to be leading the Leadership and Corporate Governance piece for the Grow AI cohort - powered by INCO Academy. Supported by Google for Startups. With funding from Google.org

08/02/2024

Are you rewarding yourself enough in your goal-setting plans?

Mr. G shares insights and important reminders you're going to find really useful at this time of year in just a few minutes

Check it out!

This is the very last video from the goal-setting series of videos on...

Rewarding yourself!

I'm not proud to admit this but I reversed my car into a tree yesterday ... it was just a light bump, but enough to spark a 'What in the flying f**k is going on with me?' tyraid of angry thoughts.

Luckily Zach Warder-Gabaldon is a kind human and advisor and helped remind me that days like this happen, and its important to use this signal to take a step back and readjust.

So don't do what I did and endlessly grind then prolong the sense of gratification till later. This hustling thing isn't good for us. We need rest, dopamine, moderation and connection. You know all that already.

So, now that we're a month down in 2024, wouldn't you agree that now is a great time to check-in and have a treat, whaddaya say? :D

Big props to Wattanak ViTou for the video edits!

Joey Sae Hoon Ra , CPCC, PCC, CPQC
https://www.joeyra.com/

Sifiso Ripinga
https://lnkd.in/gcMX3RGf

Jen Stevie
https://www.jenstevie.com/

08/01/2024

A quick snap from Mr. G on our with lecture and workshop at the UC Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Canterbury

Best of luck to these founders and their impact journeys!

These people here....

Are our future business leaders who'll build exceptional products and experiences that serve us ...

and are rooted with empathy and integrity.

Great questions like -

"How do you find integrity/balance as a founder with all of these horribly tough decisions"

and

"Can you build a sh*tty product and just market the crap out of it?" --> This one sounds like it was a trick but it wasn't, we such rich conversation from it!

Leading to their own insights on intention, strategic marketing, sales tactics etc.

It was invigorating!

I hope for them too 😂

Thanks Pete Howard for the opportunity to share and have a bit of fun with the UC Centre for Entrepreneurship team!

And thank you Jenny Zhu Erika Wright George Newton Daniel Rickerby Catriona Savage Daeem Shariff Kent Davidson Leo Liu and Emma Arvidson for your trust - you guys are awesome!

If you meet a startup founder trying to do their thing, show them some kindness and give them a try and some feedback!

It's the only way we can shift market share from traditional and unsustainable business models and products to newer models that serve us and our futures.

They just need a bit of support 😁

18/12/2023

Here's a 2 minute video that might help you achieve just a little more in 2024

Dream a little more, feel more inspired and most importantly, feel that sense of challenge that will get you up and running!

Best of luck :D

15/12/2023

Journalling is (almost) free, and one of the most important tools to develop empathy and apply useful changes in your personal and professional life

Try it out with some of the tips from Mr. G !

05/12/2023

"Asking for help is a sign of emotional maturity"

It takes courage, self awareness and humility ... or a drastic and highly emotional situation to break through existing beliefs that stop you from reaching out

Start small and know that it's not personal if you don't get help in the way you expected

Give it a go! We're in your corner 😊

07/11/2023

Some highlights from our workshop at 231 High Street last week.

If you are a , or looking to set up a system for your busisness continuity. This programme is for you!

Please tag/share away if you think our will be helpful for someone.

📍For more information, please visit
https://www.leadingwithempathy.me/.../succession-planning...