Empathy, the competition of the Future.

How to make Empathy really work?

Imagine a day in your life. You wake up and have a list of activities that have become a daily routine. A real chain of habits that are done on autopilot. Everything is under control and you have inadvertently fallen into a comfort zone. It is difficult that under this state of complacency, you realize the changes that are taking place around you.

Suddenly, a mysterious device descends and, in the middle of the rumble, a door opens. A figure that radiates light walks toward you and says it is called Empathy. Her face exudes sweetness and her tone of voice wisdom. It's impressive how she immediately tunes in to you. You feel understood, and you decide to trust her. Empathy tells you that this strange device is a time machine and invites you to travel in it. This machine has two options, travel to the past or travel to the future. That is the first dilemma between which you must decide.

As the Romans said, "the past is past and you have no interference, but the future is uncertain. Knowing it can give you clues to act in the present time."

You stay silent and decide to travel to the future.

In a blink of an eye, you find yourself in the future. Driverless cars pass by you, you see giant printers building houses in less than 24 hours without a single worker, super-intelligent chatbots and highly sophisticated automated platforms abound measuring your reactions and interacting with several users at once. Artificial Intelligence has monopolized all repetitive tasks. Virtual assistants in the style of Iron Man are a reality here. It is a matter of asking for information and, at the snap of a finger, it is at your fingertips. Precisely and instantly and facilitating decision making and freeing up time.

The work facilities look emptier due to the high rate of robotization. The few people who work in these sites have had to learn to live with the "cobots" collaborative robots.

You realize that technology has complemented, streamlined, and redefined jobs. Employment has become an indicator of social responsibility. Then you wonder what happened to all the people who have been replaced by technology? Your search on the internet and find an article from the World Economic Forum that says that 85 million jobs have disappeared including lawyers, journalists, drivers, chefs, financial analysts, customer service, doctors, waiters, postmen, among others.

You look around and it looks like a Marvel movie with superheroes. In reality, they are humans who have increased their capabilities through cyborgs. They are implants that have managed to merge the human and the machine giving it supra-human faculties. The famous bionic man has ceased to be a comic strip in this reality.

People use chips to open and close doors. Their location is easily traceable through these chips or other additives such as bracelets, glasses, and even tattoos. It knows what time you enter to work, what time you connect to the computer, your location, whether or not you are meeting the scheduled work rate, etc. Espionage in the style of Taylorism, but without a supervisor.

Empathy looks at you and feels your fear. She tells you, "virtual communication through holograms has replaced physical contact and it made interactions colder. The speed of change has made the skills liquid to be able to adapt to new situations. Learning became a constant and knowledge became recyclable. Self-management prevails and everyone's effort is oriented to tasks of greater value that involve a more human touch. In other words, what can't algorithms do? and that is where I enter strongly" replicates Empathy.

"But, alone as such, I do not serve much. Here's why."

"Empathy is identifying, knowing, and understanding how the other person feels. This involves a cognitive component. In fact, when we say that empathy is putting ourselves inside the shoes of others, we refer to this level of empathy: where I understand, but I do not feel, I do not share and I do not get involved."

"Getting to experience the emotions of the other person has an emotional implication. Joy or sorrow is shared."

"But, what good is it for me to put myself in someone else's position, share their emotions, and sit idly by?"

"Empathy does not generate action on its own."

"When we react to what others feel and the desire to help awakens in us, the term is called "compassion". In reality, empathy awakens compassion. Which is why, at this level, it is called "compassionate empathy"."

"Put yourself in each other's shoes and, if they fit, do something to relieve that discomfort."

"it's not the time to worry. It is time to take care of yourself", says Empathy. "Let's go back to the present and I'll give you some guidelines for Compassionate Empathy to work".

"Compassionate empathy allows us to know and understand our client's volatile needs. In fact, empathizing is the first phase of the Design Thinking methodology where, through empathy maps, we try to understand our clients: what they hear, what they think, what they feel, what they see, what they say, what they do and what they need. It will devise better solutions, products, or services. Prototype and test in order to make the appropriate adjustments. The key is to do it in frames of iterations or short time slots that allow us to calm the situation of pain before the need disappears."

"It seems simple", argues Empathy. "However, in my trip, I have seen the resistance to agile methodologies. They continue to build pedestrian bridges that no one crosses because they are not where they should be. They design sidewalks on one side, while people walk on the other. They develop procedures with zero empathy and force people to adapt to them".

"Mind you, when I talk about the customer, I also mean the internal customer. Putting yourself in the situation of your collaborators will help you understand what they need to do in order to improve their job performance. They need to do it feeling fulfilled and happy. This is the so-called Resonant Leadership, where you tune in to each person in a particular way. But remember, it is not only about understanding but also about channeling and making viable the concerns with whom it corresponds."

"Compassionate empathy invites us to look beyond today. It will anticipate the development of competencies and avoid situations of pain. It is important to make trips to the future like the one we have made today. It saddens me too much", says Empathy, "when I see that a person who has been promoted for doing excellently well the work in his position, is fired for not managing the team of which they have been put in charge. These are positions that require different competencies. If for a moment these bosses decentralize to put themselves in each other's position, they would have provided the necessary training without reaching these outcomes."

"Although 85 million positions are going to disappear, we must also consider that 97 million new jobs are going to be generated. Reskilling and Upskilling must have an empathetic approach to the future, otherwise, you will have wasted time and effort."

"Compassionate empathy allows us to transcend. It is time to co-create alternatives for the common benefit of taking advantage of virtuality, globalization, and diversity. Put aside the famous law "of the strongest", of jealousy and destructive competition. We must raise our heads and stop seeing our navel. Not to see what we can take away from the other, it is to understand the world of the other and see how we can complement each other. This is only possible with a thought of abundance."

"Compassionate empathy mobilizes genuine feedback and transparent communication, making it a right. When you judge you do it from your perspective. When you ask, you make the effort to put yourself in the position of the other. When you provide the opportunity for improvement before making drastic decisions, you call for compassion."

"Without compassionate empathy, there is no teamwork"

"Without compassionate empathy, the leader would easily be replaced by a robot"

"Without compassionate empathy, we can't talk about customer experience, co-create or innovate"

"Without compassionate empathy, we can't talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion"

"That is why everyone says that Empathy is the competition of the future"

"I know you ask yourself, why are there people who seem to have no empathy? The answer is: that all of us have the seed of empathy."

"A baby cries when he hears another crying, but there are certain phenomena that stimulate his development and others truncate him."

1. How to feel what I have never felt.

"It is said that millennials do not know what sacrifice is. The fault lies with their "Generation X" parents who gave them everything. They were very permissive and made their lives easier. In contrast, Generation X received a very strict education at the point of whip by their parents the "Baby Boomers"."

"How would you understand the feeling of not having a job and being desperate while trying to get one when you already have a job?. Perhaps that's why recruiters don't bother to inform applicants who apply for a vacancy."

"Empathy will definitely awaken more easily when we see ourselves reflected in a situation"

2. "Eyes that do not see, the heart that does not feel"

"We complain about the indifference of some leaders to diversity, gender equity and inclusion, technological change, climate change, among others. Deep down more than indifference is that they will not suffer, worry, or lift a finger, for what they do not know."

"Educating and sensitizing by appealing to the senses, showing figures, indicators, real cases, consequences, and much more. This helps awaken the feeling of compassionate empathy.

3. Circle of closeness.

"If someone falls, the most common reaction is to laugh. If you put yourself in the shoes of the one who fell, you would never laugh. You would come to their aid. If the one who falls was your mother or your child, empathy would immediately emerge."

"That is why the importance of developing closeness, knowing your people and fostering a sense of team and belonging."

4. I can't carry more weight.

"How many times when someone interrupts you, and you lose control because you had a busy and stressed schedule? you stare at them, close the door, and loudly say, don't you see that I am busy? In other words, I don't move forward with my own problems enough to deal with the problems of others."

"The weight of our problems makes us blind to the pain and needs of others, nullifying empathy. This blindness can be conscious or unconscious. Therefore, any agenda of a leader must include a space for their people with the same sense of importance and urgency as any other activity."

5. Empathy generates emotional bonds

"During the pandemic, many people got sick and had to spend alone at home without being able to leave. Compassionate empathy caused his peers to bring him food, help him with shopping, and divide his work while he recovered. These displays of empathy generate an emotional bond, a unique feeling of gratitude."

"Unfortunately, empathy also has a dark side when we empathize with negative situations that can arouse anger and hatred. In the same case above, if the sick person never received a call, felt lonely and abandoned, and had his salary reduced, resentment would be generated. Many co-workers may tune into this feeling aggravating the situation."

"That is why we must be careful in the balance of our actions. Make known the efforts made to solve negative situations. That your left hand does not know what the right hand has done. does not work in this scenario."

With each explanation given by "Empathy" the light, it radiated spread. When he realized that this light had illuminated the way, she said, "it is time to continue my journey I want you to remember:"

"Pines and asbestos in the valley where conditions are advantageous dispute nutrients. Altitudes where conditions are inclement and nutrients scarce share the same to survive. Human beings are the other way around. In the face of adverse situations, we destroy each other. It is time to raise our heads to look at other people and help each other. Let's emphasize the other law of the jungle "that of mutual help", where "Empathy" is essential."

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Mariela Paredes

Dr. in Industrial Psychology, Master in Business Administration, Specialist in Human Factors and Crisis Management.

25 years of experience in the field of Human Resources. About 10,000 hours of training in which more than 20,000 people have been trained.