PERFORMANCE & EMPATHY
WHAT DOES EMPATHY HAVE TO DO WITH PERFORMANCE?
"And what about PERFORMANCE? How does empathy help a business make more money, improve productivity, quality or safety?" These are valid questions we're often asked. The answer is simple: Performance is a byproduct of culture; culture is a direct product of empathy; empathy is the most effective and least utilized leadership value. This is why our first principle at Humaneyes is "it is only by paying attention to people - and not to performance - real transformation becomes possible.
It is not that we have anything against performance. On the contrary, we are saying that in order to achieve sustainable breakthroughs in performance, an authentic focus needs to be on the culture. This is because performance is nothing but a symptom of culture. How many times have we tried to manage performance through lifeless policies and procedure, only to harness more resentment, mediocracy and frustration? And we still do!!! Working in an organization with an empathy-based engagement platform, people feel a sense of inclusiveness, belonging, trust and respect - essential prerequisites for a thriving business culture that is proactive, creative and collaborative. Then the results will take care of themselves.
Indeed, it is easier said than done and requires the courage to let go of the need to micromanage performance - a sort of leap of faith. But isn't it how everything great that we know came about? After all, what is an organization but a group of people up to something bigger than themselves? Our mission at Humaneyes is simple: instil empathy as a core leadership value. It is just about the only thing that really works.