Without empathy and focus, you’ll never be able to communicate effectively and relate well to others. People who lack empathy are sure to face interpersonal difficulties that lead to inferior performance, negative outcomes, and poor relationships with coworkers and customers.

As a competency skill, empathy is poorly understood by those who need it the most. Some hard-driving managers eschew the need to develop it because they assume it’s for “touchy-feely” types. Other tone-deaf leaders blindly walk around, relying solely on logic and wondering why others fail to see things their way.

Research by the Center for Creative Leadership reveals that executive “derailment” is primarily caused by deficits in emotional competence:

1. Difficulty in handling change
2. Inability to work well in teams
3. Poor interpersonal relations

The inability to understand matters from others’ points of view means some people lack the flexibility required for change. These individuals simply cannot work well with, or relate to, others, which makes them workplace liabilities.

Successful leaders score high marks in five areas of social competencies in the workplace, for which empathy is the foundation. Understanding others leads to goal completion—not to mention opportunities for promotion. When combined with focus, perseverance and concentration, empathy breeds achievement.

This article suggests 10 steps to practice and improve our ability to experience empathy.
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This is a brief synopsis of a 1000-word article suitable for coach newsletters. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

The complete 1,000 word article includes these five the following concepts:

• Defining Empathy
• 5 Social Competencies
• The Trickle-Down Theory
• Fundamental Interactions
• Nonverbal Cues
• 10 Steps to Improving Empathy

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Competition for top leadership positions is tough. Intelligence and good social skills are the price of admission, but they’re not enough.

A high-potential candidate must master the intricacies of reading people, predicting behaviors and influencing perceptions — advanced communication skills that can be learned.

The effective CEO’s presence and essence have changed tremendously over the last two decades. There’s no hiding behind a title. What propels most executives to the top won’t keep them there for long.

Today’s effective leaders have more than presence, charisma and charm. They are strategic about managing their communication skills and adroit at reading others’ perceptions and values.

Perceptive leaders craft messages that meet their target audiences’ needs. They understand which information will be filtered out, how messages become distorted and disregarded, and how information is assigned meaning.

Psychological Icebergs

The stimuli we hear and see are merely the tip of a complex psychological iceberg. Preconceptions about body language may cause us to miss more important signals. Leaders must learn to identify how people’s values become filters for their perceptions.

Research shows that people are only 20 percent successful at reading body language. Determining the true meaning of visual, verbal and nonverbal cues requires a more complex analysis of other variables.

This article examines situational awareness as one component of social intelligence and suggests five steps to improve one’s ability to read people, influence perceptions and gain executive presence.
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This is a brief synopsis of a 2000 & 1000-word article suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials.

You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.
The complete 2,000 word article includes these important concepts:

• Social Intelligence:

o    Situational Awareness
o    Presence
o    Authenticity
o    Clarity
o    Empathy

• Body language
• People-reading
• Flight-plan for Your Career
• The invisible Iceberg
• The Bias Trap
• Optimizing Outcomes
• The Influence of Context
• 3 Context Dynamics to Observe:
  

o    The Proxemic Context
o    The Behavioral Context
o    The Semantic Context

• 5 Steps for Better People-Reading Skills

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How to Read People and Influence Perceptions – 2000-word article, reprint rights

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How Read People and Influence Perceptions – 1000-word article,  reprint rights

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How to Read People and Influence Perceptions – Nuggets 1-4, reprint rights