Women Leading the Way: The undervalued power of empathy in leadership

9 Oct UTC +1
Zoom

The role of empathy as a high-performance leadership trait

Breaking the bias against women and People-Focused leaders

How organisations can bridge the gap for better performance

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The Empathy advantage

We found employees now rate empathy as the most essential skill they want to see more of from their leaders. They’re now shouting it from the rooftops; they want leaders who truly understand them and connect with them. So, what lessons can we learn from the leaders that are using the power of empathy to transform people’s performance, engagement, and wellbeing? It all makes for a powerful high-performance culture. Too many organisations are missing out on upping this key leadership skill, leading instead to disengaged employees, important voices not being confident enough to speak up during challenges, and ultimately stifled collaboration and innovation. We’ve crunched the behaviour data with some fascinating results.
Woman leading and presenting in a conference
Effective team communication
Breaking the bias

Women tend to score higher on 12 of 16 leadership competencies and yet there’s such a gap in their representation at the top. With women far more likely to demonstrate People-Focused skills among those competencies, we’ll be exploring how historical stereotypes might mute the potential of everyone who tends to show up with these traits in areas like selection, teamwork, and promotion. On the flipside, we’ll also look at how traditional male leadership styles – often associated with being overly competitive, logical and tough – might need a more cautious approach. Being Outcome-Focused is important, but just because it’s perceived as the winning approach, doesn’t mean it always is when it’s overplayed.
Inclusivity sparks performance

What lessons can we learn from the leaders that are using the power of empathy to transform people’s performance, engagement, and wellbeing? Across the hour, we’ll map out the diverse set of qualities needed for leaders to thrive at the top and bring out the best in their organisation’s talent. We’ll make the case for placing greater emphasis on empathy in leadership selection and development, with a practical discussion that will flip the stereotypes on their head. Being People–Focused needs to be valued and celebrated in a more balanced way. Because outdated stereotypes are hurting the promotions, business performance and the confidence for everyone who wants to act on these strengths at work. 

Meet the Presenters

Mireille Watanabe Handover

Resources Lead & Lumina Learning Partner

I am a Lumina Learning Partner for Japan, a faculty member delivering Lumina Learning’s psychometric qualifications and an Organisational Development Lead. As well as qualifying countless Practitioners in the suite of Lumina Learning psychometric products, I have considerable experience in consulting, designing and facilitating a range of Learning & Development solutions. Bilingual and bicultural, I enjoy working with clients, Practitioners and participants from around the world. A Certified Business Psychologist, I have an MSc in People and Organisation Development from the Roffey Park Institute and have supported the design and delivery of large scale women’s leadership programmes.

Dr Stewart Desson

Global Personality Expert & Speaker,

Lumina Learning

I’m on the board of the Association for Business Psychology, and the CEO of the international selection and development company, Lumina Learning. I’m a highly experienced trainer, consultant, a leading expert in psychometrics, and known to most of my team as a slightly crazy innovator! My specialities include Organisational Development, Team Effectiveness, Communication, Personal Awareness and Development, Influencing Skills, Executive Coaching and Leadership Skill Development.

Meet the Panellists

Dame Dr Neslyn Watson-Druée DBE

I am a business psychologist, executive coach, and renowned international speaker that articulates the behaviours and characteristics of successful leaders. My Unique Business System: The Leaders’ Code™ is used in corporate organisations to change organisational culture, demonstrate courage, show commitment, develop creativity, challenge issues, and care about people. I developed an NHS Leadership demonstration programme in 1993 that formed the foundation of the work of the NHS Institute and subsequently the current NHS Leadership Academy. I have presented to the European Parliament, public and private sector organisations and various charities on leadership development, emotional intelligence and creating, and sustaining high performing teams. 

Julie Nelson

Julie Nelson
Organisation Founder & Executive Coach,
JDN Consulting & BeYou Women’s Network

I am the founder for BeYou Women’s Network which aims to inspire women in the community to rebuild their confidence, re-engage with learning and refocus on their career. I designed BeYou Personal Development Programmes to support corporate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy and action plans. I also founded JDN Consulting which offers a wide range of services to support people to explore career options and inspire personal growth.