Practice Empathy

How does one get better at building deep connections, particularly in the workplace?

I say practice empathy.

Empathy is the capacity to understand and feel what another person is experiencing within their frame of reference. It is our capacity to place ourselves in someone else’s position.

Our instinct when engaging others, particularly at the workplace, is to judge and label them. He is not helping; he is a shirker; he lacks grace; he’s not supporting, etc.

Instead of making assumptions about and judging others, ask questions like ” Why does this person feel this way?” Or “Why is the person behaving that way?” or “what’s happening in the background ?”

The more we practice empathy, the better our understanding of the world around us will be, and this is at the core of our ability to build deeper, more connected relationships.