Alternate link: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe?language=en

Play from 9:48 -10:27

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Simon Sinek, British American business consultant, author, and motivational/inspirational speaker with a focus on organizational culture.

In his Ted Talk, he talks about those people who he says are "absolutely leaders"--- the people who are using leadership skills regardless of their rank because they "have chosen to look after the person to the left of them, and they have chosen to look after the person the right of them..." (9:50).

They are inclusive in the ways in which they look after or take care of each other.

*Language usage note: The term "look after" means to "take care of," and is the opposite of "to disregard," and "to neglect."

Using leadership skills to look after each other starts with the use of active listening and empathy. This creates a sense of relatedness and belonging, and promotes inclusiveness and diversity.

Active Listening Supports Building Relationships

In her seminar, Inclusive Leadership: The Power of Workplace Diversity, Dr. Brenda Allen of the University of Colorado pointed out that "At the institutional level we sometimes see how diversity translates into meeting metrics instead of building relationships with people of diverse backgrounds. Active listening helps to build those relationships, promotes diversity and creates an inclusive environment."

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She went on to explain that "Listening is one of the most important ways that leaders can show that they value and respect people from all backgrounds.

Listening: to hear something with thoughtful attention, a conscious act of processing what we hear.

This implies an important distinction between hearing and listening.

Hearing: the act of perceiving sound.

Active listening: the ability to focus completely on a speaker, understand their message, comprehend the information, and respond thoughtfully (Allen, 2021).

Brenda J. Allen, PhD, Communications Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado

Empathy word cloud Vector images-1.JPG Empathy

According to Brene Brown PhD, empathy fuels connection.

It is important to note that empathy it is not sympathy. While empathy fuels connection, sympathy drives disconnection. ("I feel sorry for you" vs. "I feel with you and understand")

Theresa Wiseman, a nursing scholar, conducted research in which she studied diverse professions where empathy is relevant and identified four qualities of empathy:

Perspective-taking--the ability to take the perspective of another person, or recognizing their perspective as their truth.
Staying out of judgment.
Recognize emotion in other people.
Communicate that you recognize that emotion.

When we choose to look after people and create a sense of belonging---as a leader does---one effective way to do this is through active listening and empathy. In doing this, we hold space for each other and are choosing to be more human-centered.

Sources

Allen, B. J. (2021). Inclusive Leadership: The Power of Workplace Diversity. University of Colorado at Denver. Retrieved online at https://www.coursera.org/learn/inclusiveleadership

Brown, B. (2019). Dare to Lead: Daring Classrooms. New York: Random House.

Sinek, S. (2014). Why good leaders make you feel safe [Video]. Ted Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe?language=en

Wiseman, T. (1996). A concept analysis of empathy. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 23 (6), 1162-1167. doi: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1996.12213.