Moving beyond IQ: The need for relational intelligence
For the past few years, it’s been nigh on impossible to skim through any LinkedIn post, job advertisement or business thought-leadership piece without coming across one word: empathy. The London Business School identified it as one of the top qualities needed by leaders today, following on the World Economic Forum’s belief that empathy is a “must-have business strategy” that “helps create a sense of belonging, reinforcing the belief that employees’ perspectives matter”. It really is the business buzzword <du jour>.
It used to be a cliché that nice executives finish last. But in a world of rapid AI integration and increasing commercial complexity, the ‘soft’ skill of empathy has become the hardest competitive advantage to replicate.
However, whereas the business world tends to use the word as a synonym for compassion or kindness, I prefer Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s definition: “… the ability to be able to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and see the world the way they see it. That’s empathy.”
The Microsoft case study: Scaling empathy to $3tn
Nadella is right: in an era where AI can simulate intelligence, empathy has moved from a fluffy add-on to a hard commercial imperative. As Satya Nadella has recently emphasised, IQ without EQ is no longer enough to lead. Connecting with employees and clients allows you to intuitively understand what they really want, not just what the data says. Do this successfully and you make staff more productive and design services tailored perfectly for both the explicit and implicit needs of your market. This deep sense of empathy is the engine behind the world’s most intuitive technologies and the leaders who drive them.
It was 30 years ago when Satya started at Microsoft, and twelve years ago when he became CEO. Since then, empathy has been one of the central tenets of his business strategy. The ability to put themselves into their consumers’ shoes has turned Microsoft into a $3tn (£2.4tn) business. In their most recent results, they reported a massive quarterly profit of $31.8bn, driven by an 18% surge in revenue.
The problem is that most business-leaders, just like most of us, haven’t developed empathy to its full potential.
The view from the trenches: creating a culture centred on empathy
The good news is that empathy is a teachable skill (Nadella likens empathy to a “muscle that needs to be exercised”). At True & North we’ve trained countless businesses to develop their empathy which has catalysed into greater creativity and stronger business results. Here’s some things we’ve learned:
● Adopt a ‘them first, then me’ approach. Empathetic people always frame problems from the point of view of the other person. Got problems convincing employees to return to the office? Think ‘How do I make the office a place where everybody feels comfortable and ‘psychologically safe’?’ instead of ‘I must order my virtual workers back to the office now”.
● Fall in love with problems, not solutions. Yes, you might have an awesome idea for a new product/service, but it won’t mean anything unless it’s directly addressing a problem your clients or staff are experiencing. Slow down and take time exploring any issues they have. You’ll be surprised at the innovative ideas that will emerge.
● Walk a mile in their shoes. No shortcuts here — you need to put the legwork in to truly understand someone and this work needs to be effortful and intentional. This is about putting in deep, pre-emptive effort — the two hours work up front which means you will save two weeks work later on because you thought someone might need something they don’t. And remember to stay free of bias and pre-judgement — this is about seeing the world from the other person’s perspective so you need to leave any preconceived notions behind.
● It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the answers. Some problems won’t have a magic silver bullet to fix them, but it doesn’t matter: a key part of being a good leader is <trust>. In the early days of the pandemic, nobody had an answer for this new mysterious menace. But those leaders who showed empathy — Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen — had lower death rates and better compliance. Why? People trusted them. Show empathy and people will trust you much more as a leader — even if you don’t have a solution.
● If you’re feeling uncomfortable, you’re probably doing it right. Empathy can be hard. To truly identify with somebody, you must find common ground. This might involve sharing your own experiences of an unpleasant experience. Yes, you may feel vulnerable sharing the failure of a new product-line or your personal struggles with mental health in a company town-hall meeting or blog. But these stories resonate with the experiences of employees and consumers. As such, they’ll be much more willing to open up to you.
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Relational intelligence is no longer an optional extra. It is the engine of high-performing teams. We help leaders bridge the gap between commercial drive and human connection.