Empathy is Underrated

#This post is part of my 30 days writing challenge.

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In one of my management stints, my department has gone astray and we were over scrutinized to deliver.
The demands were high and the expectations were higher; This led me to demand more from my direct reports which entailed regular meetings and more granular feedback.
I almost lost hope in one of my teams until I was emptying my chest to a friend when he abruptly said: “if your direct report fails, then because you failed him/her”. Although I was aware of my shortcomings beforehand, this completely shifted my paradigm and my focus went  from “What’s wrong?” to “how can I make their job easier?”; 3 weeks in and I was stunned by the progress we made.

We all have our own struggles and down times. We feel weak, overwhelmed, lazy, stressed, depressed, and simply not ourselves. Remember, empathy is overrated once read but truly crucial once felt and observed.