The Empathy Edge

Imagination and resilience are the hallmarks of successful leaders, those who can envision the goal before they even know exactly how to get there, and those who can bounce back and learn from failure rather than let it discourage them. Imagination and resilience are what we need, now more than ever, to create a more peaceful, harmonious world. That’s how we’ll tap into new ideas for how to work,...

Do you have to choose between a successful corporate career and humanitarian work? Or can they live in harmony? Today’s guest proves that you can not only do both, but that you can engage your team and such work can make you a better, more empathetic leader! It’s a beautiful cycle and one I’m thrilled to talk about with Woodson Martin. Today, Woodson shares how he achieves that balance, and offers...

If you don’t think diversity, equity and inclusion are hard, then you haven’t been paying attention. Of course it’s hard! Most things worth doing to make our world a better place are hard! It requires us to examine biases, rethink old assumptions, and take the time to empathize and see other points of view. And it’s totally worth it, not just to society as a whole, but to your organization’s abili...

We, as humans, don’t buy for the reasons we think we do, and there are ways to communicate our message so that we tap into those mental models and frameworks - not to manipulate, but to make your case in a way our brains can understand and connect with.  My guest today, Melina Palmer, CEO of The Brainy Business, and author of What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You , will share exactly what be...

When was the last time you felt a sense of play at work?  Our current workplace paradigms and power structures no longer serve us, and we’re called to rethink them to have more impact and financial success. My guests today are Jyoti Patel and Emily Griffin. These two powerhouses joined together to create The Empathy Tour, where they spent the fall of 2020 talking to all types of leaders, both trad...

If we’ve learned anything over the last few years of dealing with a global pandemic, it’s our insatiable human need for connection. I’m not talking about likes on a post, or how many business cards you get to hand out at an event. I’m talking about genuine connection - connections that fuel you, inspire you, make you laugh, and spark ideas. Today, my guest Susan McPherson shares her lifelong commi...

Your organization has a story. Are you leveraging empathy for your audience and telling it? You may not think story has a place in business, but if you want to engage employees, partners, or customers it most certainly does. Why do stories engage us so much? And how do we craft a good story? Today, my guest, Jerome Deroy, and I break down why storytelling is the way we make connections, get inspir...

Social intelligence is the capacity to communicate and form relationships with empathy and assertiveness. It comes from knowing yourself and knowing others - and acting with awareness and empathy. Today, I talk with Kelly Cooper, Founder and CEO of the Center for Social Intelligence and author of Lead the Change – The Competitive Advantage of Gender Diversity and Inclusion. We talk about what soci...

By far, the most popular story from my book The Empathy Edge is the story of Christina Harbridge and her magical collection agency. The story of how she created a culture of empathy that led to transforming a usually bleak work environment into a thriving culture, resulting in success rates 3X the industry average and whose clients would send thank you cards and wedding invitations! How did she do...

Caregivers in general, be they moms, dads or those caring for elder parents, are struggling at work right now in very specific ways. What can workplaces do to support them and see things from their point of view? Empathy combined with action will ensure you don’t lose top talent, but instead enable them to thrive and help your company succeed. Today I have the utter joy to talk with Sara Dean, who...

Why is it important to ask questions, of ourselves and of others? Well, if you’re been here at this podcast for a minute, you know that curiosity is the #1 trait of empathetic people. My guest today, mental fitness practitioner, Marc Champagne shares how we are all one question away from changing our lives. Today, we talk about Marc's obsessions with questions to get clarity, embrace intentionalit...

It’s not healthy that we have numbed our feelings so much as a society simply because we can’t process them. This shows up in so many different negative ways, but actually impacts our business success. My guest today is on a mission to get millions of people feeling again and we’ll talk about the impact to your team’s success, your company’s ability to innovate and your capacity to operate at peak...

When you don’t speak out, the world misses out on what could be your game-changing idea, inspiring perspective or important cautionary tale. Too often women and underrepresented people are too afraid to speak up, share their authentic opinions and experiences, and actually make their organizations more successful. That’s a tragedy. Today, I speak with leadership communication expert and author Hop...

At what age did we lose our sense of play?  What role does play have in boosting trust, collaboration, and creativity? A big role, it turns out.  My guest today, Ilana Ben-Ari, says research shows we gain tremendous amounts of communication, collaboration, and empathy skills in kindergarten, but they then drastically decline as the education system demands more metrics and less play from us. Scien...

Nothing requires empathy more than going into a difficult conversation at work - asking for a raise, telling a coworker they are not pulling their weight, or even delivering a less-than-stellar performance evaluation to an employee. You know it’s not a conversation they want to have and you steel yourself for a fight. Today, my guest, Roberta Matuson and I talk about these exact conversations and...

Have you ever thought about a story as a persuasive argument or as making a case? Because that is what a good story does - it moves us to think or act in a new way. There is a structure to every good story that inspires, ignites, and moves people to action, whether that action is to make a change, donate money, or invest in your product or service. Today, I talk with my guest, Tamsen Webster about...

Being an effective leader requires you to be able to truly see yourself as you are - to know who you want to be, where you’re strong, and where you might fall down - and that requires hard inner work! In today’s episode, I had the great pleasure to talk to leadership, branding, and transformation expert, speaker and multiple award-winning author Minter Dial. We talk about the importance of empathy...

We like to tell ourselves that we make purely logical purchase decisions, but we’re human and we do not. Regardless of the type of business you are in, humans have emotional reactions to every single decision they make, whether they know it or not. Today, brand strategist, Kevin Perlmutter, and I discuss the brain’s limbic system, why marketers should care about it, and how to uncover your custome...

How do we apply empathy to solve tough business challenges? Taking the time to gather empathic insights might seem like it’s slowing you down, but doing so can actually help you solve the right problems, exceed your goals, and accelerate growth. In my conversation today with Michael Ventura, you will hear fascinating stories about how he creatively gathered empathic brand insights for clients like...

What can a psychologist who works with high-performers like Silicon Valley executives and professional athletes share with you about empathetic leadership? You’re about to find out from my guest, Dr. Adam Dorsa.! Today, we talk about the biggest reason ambitious leaders back away from empathy and if there are certain people who can never be empathetic. He’ll share breakthroughs his high-performing...

Empathy for others starts with empathy for yourself. Today’s guest, Jamie Greenwood, is going to break down exactly why this is true and how self-compassion makes you a strong leader. She reveals the truth about what self-care really means (and it is not what you think), why ambitious leaders resist self-compassion, and how that can have negative consequences for themselves and their teams. We als...

The billion dollar marketing question: How do you make people fall in love with your brand? First step is that it requires you to understand your customer not as a “target” but as a real human being, with values, aspirations, and a life story. While data-driven insights are important, we need to move beyond traditional focus groups. My guest today, Sandy Thompson, shares her successful career in b...

What does it really mean to be customer centric? It’s more than just polite customer service or occasionally asking customers what they think of you. It’s an ongoing mindset that is backed up by processes, structures, and tools to continue staying in lockstep with your customers - and engaging their input and needs to drive business decisions. My guest today, Dennis Geelen, shares his formula for...

The metaverse, virtual reality, immersive experiences - this is the future of how we connect. While some of you have embraced virtual connection this year, others have lamented the loss of empathetic connection. Today, I talk with Evo Heyning about creating immersive experiences and participatory spaces that leverage technology to foster more connection and collaboration than we’ve ever been able...

When you think of empathetic organizations, you think of nonprofits and community organizations. Today, I talk with Heather Hiscox who discusses the need for those in the social impact space to embrace empathy so they can innovate, iterate, and better serve the communities they seek to benefit. We talk about how social impact organizations can apply design thinking and we tackle the mindset shift...