Coaching an executive lacking empathy? I feel you, it's like trying to teach a fish how to sing. In my experience, a mix of patience and practical exercises works wonders. We've seen empathy blossom through role-playing scenarios that put execs in their team's shoes, showing them the real impact of their behavior. It's transformation in action, from aloof to attuned, a journey that's both challenging and rewarding.

Some Executives lose themselves along the journey of climbing the ladder.They tend to focus more on the numbers(deliverables) than the team that has to achieve those. As a coach, your role is to help them remember who they are and where they come from. Furthermore, together develop self-management tools so they can easily self-correct when they lose touch with their teams.

If an executive struggles with empathy, the key is to help them see its value and make small, meaningful changes. Start by sharing honest feedback about how their actions impact the team—sometimes they just don’t realize it. Next, focus on simple skills like listening without interrupting and asking their team how they’re really doing. It’s not about being perfect, just showing they care. Finally, encourage them to take small steps: checking in regularly, recognizing effort, and including others in decisions. With practice, empathy grows, and so does their connection with the team. It’s about being real, not robotic.

Es kommt immer darauf an, ob die Führungskraft „von Natur aus“ schon wenig Empathie hat oder ob sie grundsätzlich Empathiefähig ist. Das letztere ist natürlich immer die bessere Voraussetzung für ein sloches Coaching. Man könnte dabei z.B. schauen an was es liegt, dass die Person momentan zu wenig Empathie zeigt. Vielleicht liegt es daran, dass die Person sich selbst mehr in den Vordergrund stellt oder sich nicht genug Zeit für das Team nimmt. Dabei findet man relativ schnell einen Weg, der zur Besserung führt. Bei Personen, die eine eingeschränkte Empathiefähigkeit haben, muss man dann mit gezielten Tools arbeiten. Im besten Fall erkennt die Person dann, dass es mehr Sinn macht (für alle), wenn man mit Empathie führt.

Eine Führungskraft der es an Empathie fehlt , die benötigt entweder die Einsicht dazu - oder aber jemanden der ihn drauf hinweist. Empathie ist eine Gabe. Und wem sie nicht in den Schoss gelegt wurde, der muss sich coachen lassen, viel nachdenken und sich an der Stelle optimieren wollen. Aber lassen wir uns nichts vormachen, ohne Emphatie bist du der Bulldozer.

Deep healing work is necessary to help an Executive move beyond their own emotional blocks, because lack of empathy is an inability to feel & move beyond one’s own pain. First, talk to them about what's happening & what they want to accomplish. Then specifically connect their ability to feel empathy to the results they want to accomplish. Help them to dig deeper into the specific situation & the thoughts they have about the employee’s experience. Once you identify which thought triggers an emotional reaction in the Executive, then you can get to the root issue. Often, anger will be the emotion that is revealed. Helping your Client create a safe space to both feel their anger & observe their own pain will help them develop empathy.

The first thing we must understand is that an executive responsible for a team must have a series of skills, including social skills. If not, you should not automatically be promoted to a team leadership position. However, the reality is quite different in the business world. The pressure of results and objectives can cause a diversion of attention towards the fundamental elements of the business... among which are the management and care of teams of people. Through Coaching, the sense of empathy can be amplified in order to improve and incorporate tools that help develop said competence. It is not an option!… it is an essential requirement.

The leader must see themselves in the place of their employees. Most leaders who lack empathy forget about their journey to their leadership position. During our session I would ask about incidents when they did not connect with the person they were reporting to. We would discuss how they felt and ask if it affected their morale and performance. Next I would share the data that proves that over 60% of the work force are happy with their jobs and trust management. This ultimately affects the bottom line and is a bad reflection on leadership. Basically, leaders need to feel the same uncomfortable feeling caused by their behavior towards their subordinates in order to have lasting change and consistent positive outcomes.