At first glance, ’empathy’ and ‘sympathy’ may not seem very different. In some cases, people use these words interchangeably. But when it comes to leadership skills, that’s not accurate. There’s value in being an empathetic leader that connects with and supports their team. Explore the differences between empathy vs sympathy and how they can impact our leadership style.

What Is Empathy?

Empathy is the ability to sense and appreciate another person’s emotions or experiences. It’s the ability to imagine what other people may be feeling, thinking, or experiencing without that same situation occurring to you, according to the University of California at Berkeley.

The empathetic sensibility breaks down into two further distinctions:

• Affective empathy is a form of empathy in which you have a sense or feeling that’s a direct response to what another person is experiencing. It typically mirrors what others feel. For example, you may become anxious and uneasy when you know a good friend is worried about a medical test result, even though that test doesn’t directly impact you.
• Cognitive empathy, often called “perspective taking,” is a person’s ability to understand and identify with how another person feels. In the case above, cognitive empathy is your ability to recognize that the other person is anxious and worried waiting for the test result. You understand their fear, though you don’t feel it yourself.

What Is Sympathy?

Sympathy occurs when a person feels compassion for another person’s pain or struggles. We feel sorry for a person’s misfortune but from the outside. Sympathy is a critical component of emotional intelligence. We feel for a person, but not with them. For example, you may sympathize with someone who lost their job through pity or concern, but you don’t internalize that pain or identify with that struggle on a personal level.

Like empathy, sympathy can also be classified into more distinct categories. Passive sympathy is limited to a feeling, while active sympathy occurs when we are compelled to take action to help that person.

Sympathy vs Empathy: Which Is a Better Leadership Skill?

When defining leadership skills, understanding the link between sympathy vs empathy and how they play a role in day-to-day workplace relationships is essential.

Contrary to certain opinions, empathy and sympathy are different. The biggest difference comes in their expressions. In empathy, we express an understanding and experience of the emotions that the other person has; we understand and feel their situation from their perspective. With sympathy, there’s less feeling and more recognition. We recognize what they feel going through, but we don’t “feel” it.

The sympathy vs empathy difference isn’t always significant. In some situations, people don’t realize the depth of how much they care until a crisis occurs. Other times, we may feel bad that we don’t have more empathy for a person’s situation. Emotional intelligence is being able to connect with people on various levels when they are facing challenges like this.

How Do These Elements Impact Leadership Skills?

Honing leadership skills is an ongoing process. We may focus heavily on areas of giving direction and making decisions but learning to be an empathetic leader is just as valuable. Mastering how to behave as a leader can comprehensively change how we connect with our employees.

Sympathy in a work environment is necessary to some degree. It can impact relationships positively, especially when we can offer sympathetic statements to someone struggling. Sympathy can help with:

• Encouraging good communication
• Creating a more open relationship with people at work
• Developing a work environment where employees feel heard and safe

Leading with empathy is also critical to building a cohesive, close-knit team. While we must be careful and not allow our ability to feel alongside others to drain us, empathetic leadership provides certain key benefits in the workplace, such as:

• Creating connections and bonds with people
• Building a united team, one that works together
• Improving bonds which can foster more creativity and dedication in employees

Building stronger relationships as empathetic leaders allows us to form a true connection with the people on our team. We can connect, feel, and experience their pain, struggles, and other emotions. Ultimately, when harnessed properly, empathetic leaders often end up with more loyal employees, those that are willing to participate, share, and innovate solutions together.

Expressing Empathy at Work

When it comes to empathy vs sympathy, both have their place in the office to various degrees. Good leaders can find the balance between being an empathetic leader to motivate employees and being one that gets too involved in employee relationships. That fine line isn’t always easy to navigate.

There are some things we can do as empathetic leaders to make a difference:

• Recognize an employee having a difficult time. Send a personalized note when they are going through a specifically difficult hardship.
• Be there when someone is struggling. Listen to them.
• Imagine how you would feel if you were in the same situation.
• Make a conscious decision not to make snap judgments or quick assumptions about a situation. Instead, consider how the other person feels first.
• Take action when there’s a need. Try to understand the other person’s needs in this specific situation and help them to meet those needs in a practical manner.

Maintaining professionalism is valuable, but it is also quite important to show your team you’re there for them, that they’re valued, and that you want to support their needs in any way you can from your position. Consistently work on your leadership training to achieve this long-term goal.

Are You an Empathetic Leader?

Enhancing leadership skills is something all leaders need to do on a consistent basis. To learn how to become an empathetic leader, complete our empathy vs sympathy quiz. Find out what you are doing to be the best leader you can be.