It’s easy to meet anger with anger. It’s harder to meet anger with empathy, but the leaders who strive to understand how others feel will earn the admiration of their employees, customers, and the communities in which they do business.
A closer look at statements made by some of America’s most admired leaders in response to the protests over the killing of George Floyd demonstrates consistency with their long-held values.
“I have heard from so many of you that you feel afraid — afraid in your communities, afraid in your daily lives, and, most cruelly of all, afraid in your own skin,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a memo to employees.
Cook then turned to Apple’s longstanding mission as a brand.
“At Apple, our mission has and always will be to create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better. We’ve always drawn strength from our diversity, welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world, and strived to build an Apple that is inclusive of everyone…But together, we must do more.”
Cook’s statement is consistent with the words and actions he took after the 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville.
“The events of the past several days have been deeply troubling for me, and I’ve heard from many people at Apple who are saddened, outraged or confused,” Cook began.
“We have always welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world and showed them that Apple is inclusive of everyone. We empower people to share their views and express themselves through our products.”
At the conclusion of both statements, Cook made specific donations to groups that fight racial injustice.
The Nordstrom Way Hasn’t Changed
When I talk to CEOs and business leaders who struggle with how to react to an event that emotionally impacts their customers and employees, they’re often confused about what to say and how to say it.
“Let’s start with the company’s origin story,” I suggest. “Why does your company exist? What values has it stood for since day one?”
In 1996, a book titled The Nordstrom Way revealed how Nordstrom’s founders created a values-based service culture. It said that Nordstrom’s “magic” occurs when leaders create an atmosphere “where people feel valued, trusted, and respected.”
A quarter-century later we find the Nordstrom brand battling all sorts of headwinds that started well before the coronavirus lockdown. Imagine how executives must have felt on Monday when, just as many of its 378 stores were gradually reopening, they were forced to shut down again to assess the damage caused by looters.
Nordstrom’s leaders answered anger with empathy.
In a public letter, CEO Erik Nordstrom and president Pete Nordstrom turned to Nordstrom’s time-tested values. They wrote:
“Our values are centered on the notion of creating a place where every customer and employee is welcome, respected, appreciated, and able to be themselves,” they wrote.
“We need change. As a company, we know we have the opportunity to make things better, which is why over the past several years we’ve amplified our efforts when it comes to diversity, inclusion, and belonging at Nordstrom. It begins not only by speaking out but by listening to our employees, customers, and neighbors as they share what it’s like to be a person of color in our country today.”
Listening is a hallmark of empathetic and authentic leaders. Truly listening.
Satya Nadella Turns Over Twitter to Employees
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, proved he was listening by turning over the brand’s 9 million-strong Twitter platform to “amplify voices from the Black and African American community at Microsoft.”
The first quote was from a Microsoft employee who wrote:
I want an ally who pays attention to what is happening outside their own community. I want an ally who knows these things are happening to people like me, without me needing to tell them that they are happening to people like me.
Nadella has made empathy a trademark of his leadership.
In his book, Hit Refresh, Nadella wrote, “My passion is to put empathy at the center of everything I pursue—from the products we launch, to the new markets we enter, to the employees, customers, and partners we work with…An empathetic leader needs to be out in the world, meeting people where they live.”
The Empathy Gap
One recent study of CEO’s in the U.S. workplace found that 82% of employees would consider leaving their job for a more ‘empathetic organization.’
“Employees report that they’re more engaged with an empathetic employer,” the report concluded. “Empathy is more important than ever.”
Although leaders agreed that they need to display more empathy, the researchers found an “empathy gap” between the leader’s awareness of the issue and the way they’re seen by employees.
“The reason for this gap may be that CEOs don’t necessarily know how to exhibit empathy to their employees…58 percent of CEOs say they struggle with consistently exhibiting empathy in the workplace — and their employees agree.”
Leaders can close the empathy gap by consistently communicating their long-held personal and company values—and backing those words with their actions.