THE CHARACTER TRAITS: EMPATHY 

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Empathy. How relevant is this topic for a leader given that the overall level of empathy among students has fallen by 40% over the past 20-30 years (Konrath, 2011)? Is empathy a gift or a curse? My interest in the topic of empathy is caused by the fact that I have discovered a low level of empathy. After completing the "A spiritual gifts inventory for individuals and congregations" test, I found that, among other indicators, I have the lowest level of compassion (Dick & Miller, 2001). According to this indicator, I have only 15 points out of 100 possible. Some might say that compassion and empathy are not the same things. This may be true, but for this article, it is enough for me that these words are synonyms. The tests are given to us not to label us, but so that we can better understand ourselves and expand our capabilities. In addition, this inventory is intended as a snapshot in time – it can change.

The second reason for my interest in the topic of empathy was my interest in the topic of emotional intelligence, which remains quite popular. The ability to empathize, to recognize one's own and others' emotions, is one part of emotional intelligence. All methods of assessing the level of emotional intelligence, among other things, assess the level of empathy. Thus, a deeper understanding of the meaning of empathy and its relationship with leadership will contribute to my development in a related field of interests.

Thirdly, the topic of empathy is interesting because now we have a contradictory background, which is caused by the fourth technical revolution and the war in Ukraine. Even though the topic of emotional intelligence is now popular, the development of technology is based on logic and the gap between rational and emotional, as I believe, is increasing, which calls into question the significance and prospects for the development of empathy. The conflict in Ukraine has the potential to become a global one since all the countries of Europe, the USA, and Russia are already participating in it. The war raises questions of ethics, morality, and responsibility of a leader in modern society with renewed vigor.

The development of artificial intelligence, robotics, increasing immersion in virtual reality, the growth of information volumes, including those requiring communication, the destruction of the institution of the traditional family and the increase in the number of single people, the aging of the population, the increase in the number of women in the workplace and the dominance of the service segment over the production - some examples of those trends that can contribute to the growth of the importance of empathy or its depreciation (Watson, 2012).

Interestingly, empathy itself depends on the background of a particular situation. Ogawa and Shimada (2016), after they study the cortex's response to a nonexplanatory film, suggest that the story and narrative rhetoric evoke empathy among viewers, even if the characters demonstrate only minimal actions or facial expressions (Ogawa and Shimada, 2016). And the fact that we can empathize with fictional characters will not surprise anyone. If empathy is a figment of our imagination, why do we need empathy?

CHAPTER 2

EMPATHY

A general description of the character trait

Thanks to empathy, we can sense someone else's mood and emotions in the same way as we extract meaning from words written in a book. There are such types of empathy: spiritual empathy, emotional (or affective) empathy, cognitive empathy, and somatic empathy. The main ones are emotional (or affective) and cognitive empathy. In the first case, it is the work of an emotional mind, and in the second — a rational one. These two processes interact and make up our mental life. (Goleman, 2004).

According to Wikipedia contributors (2022), empathy can also manifest itself in the desire to help and care for other people; recognizing what another person thinks or feels; in the ability to put yourself in another person's place. Since empathy is an understanding of emotions, the nature of empathy depends on the causes of emotions. If emotions are based on beliefs, then understanding these beliefs will be important for empathy (Wikipedia contributors, 2022). Consequently, comparable beliefs or experiences enhance empathy, making it possible or more likely. The ability to empathize can be innate and can be developed unconsciously and consciously. It also depends on the ability to imitate another person and associate other people's movements, gestures, and facial expressions with their feelings from comparable expressions and movements. Empathy does not manifest itself in absolute (critical) values – a lot or a little. Rather, we can be more or less empathic. Lack of empathy or excessive sensitivity are deviations that harm both the person himself and his environment. If we recognize the actions of another person and the emotions associated with them in a way that seems acceptable to a recognized person, we can talk about the manifestation of empathy. In this paradigm, empathy is considered in this article.

Goleman (2004) argues that empathy is based on self-awareness: the more we read our own emotions, the better we will read the emotions of other people. People who do not understand their own feelings are perplexed when others express their feelings. The inability to understand the feelings of another person is the main deficit of emotional intelligence. The ability to recognize feelings through nonverbal channels (facial expressions, body movements, etc. D.) gives such advantages as better emotional adaptability, greater sociability, sensitivity, and success in personal life (Goleman, 2004).

How is empathy related to morality? Empathy researcher Martin Hoffman argues that the roots of moral behavior should be sought in empathy (Wren, 2003). The ability to put yourself in the place of a potential victim, a suffering person who is in danger, and share his grief encourages people to act in a way that helps them. The development of empathy occurs naturally, starting from infancy. Empathy encourages a moral act: an outsider has a desire to intervene in what is happening and come to the aid of the victim.

The ethical dilemma related to the leadership experience

The ethical dilemma associated with my experience regarding empathy arises from the position I take at work. Being a data analyst, I act as an intermediary or a link between specialists such as a client manager and a software developer. The developer speaks more in the language of logic using his rational intelligence, while the client manager usually has high emotional intelligence. In this way, I seem to act as a translator between specialists with different levels of empathy. Because of this, I often encounter misunderstandings and conflicts between the two sides. Trilateral meetings are especially difficult when I have to show empathy and refrain from it in real-time. I am constantly in search of a compromise trying to bring together colleagues who communicate in different ways. But I'm not a leader in my workplace. I have no followers. That's why I found a relevant example related to the dilemma regarding empathy, which has a lot in common with my experience.

Freedom of speech, without exception, is considered a basic value by developed countries. A value that even valuable human life had to defend in different periods of history. This value is at the heart of journalism and allows people to get reliable information and draw their conclusions (TV channel ICTV, 2022).

Three weeks ago, the journalist of the Russian TV channel "Rain" Alexey Korostylev said a phrase on the air, because of which he lost his job. "There is information, there is evidence about how the mobilization is going on, about how the mobilized serve at the front, go to the front line. If you want to talk about this, about the problems of the Russian army, send a message to us by mail at army@tvrain.ru or write to our telegram-bot. We respond to almost everyone and many of their written stories to our mail and telegram bot become published. We hope that we were able to help many servicemen, including, for example, with equipment and with simple, elementary amenities at the front. Because the stories that were published and told by relatives, frankly, cause horror." (TV channel ICTV, 2022) "We hope that we were able to help many servicemen, including, for example, with equipment and with simple, elementary amenities at the front" — this is the phrase that caused a flurry of criticism. Many began to ask questions. Does the Rain TV channel help the Russian army to fight against Ukraine? How? Does he directly bathe and sends equipment to Russian soldiers? Does he force Russian officials to work better and supply the Russian army with his information materials? What did the journalist mean and how appropriate are these words on the air? The topic is complicated. Let's look at it in detail so that you can draw your conclusions.

The Russian Rain TV channel positions itself as an independent media outlet. He was declared a foreign agent representing the opposition in Russia, and after the adoption of the law on fakes, he stopped broadcasting in the country and later moved to Latvia, from where he now continues to broadcast. Journalist Korostylev was immediately fired from the Rain after his statement with a manifestation of empathy towards the soldiers of the Russian army. The editor-in-chief of the publication said that there was a mistake on the air, and the journalist made a reservation. Everyone makes a reservation, but the difference is that there is a war going on and the price of a mistake is too high (TV channel ICTV, 2022).

Estimates of many people about the dismissal of a journalist are different. The editorial board of the TV channel believes that this decision is the only possible one in the current situation, since the words were spoken, even if it is a reservation, mislead part of the audience of the TV channel on the topic of what Rain is doing. The editors of the TV channel cut this episode from the air. The authorities of Latvia, where the Rain office is now located, fined the TV channel 10 thousand euros for the fact that Korostylev used the phrase "our army" to address Russian troops. What's wrong with that?

If Rain is really an independent TV channel, then there definitely cannot be any "ours" and "yours" concerning the army, politicians, or the country on the air. If you live in any country, you must respect its laws. After this incident, the Latvian Defense Minister said that Rain should move back to Russia, and the channel's employees need to cancel their residence permits. In the Rain, they said that they understood that the statement of their already former colleague a journalist could greatly hurt the residents of forty million Ukraine and asked for forgiveness on the air (TV channel ICTV, 2022).

The importance and relationship with leadership

The activity of the mass media is similar to the preaching of the church. She has a strong effect on people. Despite my neutral position regarding the war in Ukraine, this contradictory plot puzzled me. This experience has a connection with at least two theories of leadership - Style and behavior theory (1945-1965) and Process leadership theory. Feidler & House (1994) identified an additional leadership style, focusing on leadership effectiveness. These researchers expressed the opinion that attention (caring about people and behavior in relationships) is a very important variable. This consideration is called the degree of trust and mutual understanding that the leader evokes from his subordinates. According to the second theory, servant leaders were advised to focus on the anxieties of the followers, and the leader should sympathize with them, take care of them and nurture them.

According to Janet Patti, a facilitator at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, leaders with a higher level of empathy and sensitivity are more effective and productive. They develop highly effective teams and form a more balanced culture (National Association of Independent Schools, 2016). Among the many skills required for effective work and service, the ability to show empathy is of paramount importance. As Melquist (2018) notes, various related abilities, such as persuasion and conflict resolution, depend to some extent on a person's ability to develop relationships and practice empathy while increasing the level of communication (Melquist, 2018).

Leadership is the ability to convince people to work for a common goal. Awareness of the basic emotional competencies, attunement to the feelings of those with whom we are dealing, the ability to settle differences, and the art of achieving inspiration when doing work are of great benefit to the workflow. Goleman (2004) argues that the art of preserving relationships requires self-control and the ability to show empathy. On this basis, human skills are formed, which include social competencies that contribute to more fruitful communication with people; their deficiency leads to a loss of place in society, and multiple breaks in interpersonal relationships (Goleman, 2004).

An important factor in bringing the work of an entire group to a result is the ability of this group to achieve a state of internal consistency that allows you to benefit from the combined talent of the group members. Each group consists of formal and informal networks. There are three types of informal communication networks, one of which is trust networks.

The leader attracts followers to cope with the expected tasks and achieve the goal. The informal organization of complex social connections is formed in each case of communication of followers and actively works in unforeseen situations. Trust networks are formed based on empathy.

The examples of the empathy in biblical characters

The Bible is full of examples of empathy. Some of them are related to spiritual leadership, others are presented in the stories of people who were not leaders. It is necessary to start with Jesus, who even today has millions of followers around the world and changes people's lives. The compassionate love that Jesus feels when he comes to the dead Lazarus prompts him to solve the problem of suffering. The Bible says that Jesus shed tears. Even though he had the power to heal and knew the future, he showed empathy and compassion. Everything that Jesus did, thought, and said for the salvation of mankind was caused by his compassionate love for people. That is why He is described in the Gospels as being moved by compassion (Ukeachusim, 2021). His mission based on empathy and empathy was revolutionary for the time of cold indifference of the scribes and Pharisees. Despite the opposition, he demonstrated empathy until his last breath and formed a new paradigm of empathy among his followers.

In the epistle to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul shows empathy to achieve his goals. He expresses empathy for his audience and encourages followers of Jesus to help fellow believers who suffer because of their faith in Christ. Paul gives examples of empathy for imitation, which contribute not only to strengthening the faith of an individual but also to the fact that followers support each other in loyalty to God (Lee, 2020).

Another vivid example of a person with the attributes of a leader who wisely used empathy to make a fair decision is the story of the stolen baby. When two women were brought to Solomon who could not divide the child, because each claimed that it was her child, he offered to divide the child in half. After that, the actual mother of the child, showing empathy, abandoned him for the sake of preserving the child's life (Holy Bible, 2008).

Pontius Pilate is faced with a difficult choice - to remain faithful to the law and keep calm in the controlled region or to save the life of an innocent Jesus. He mitigates the punishment for Jesus with the lash. This difficult situation becomes a headache for him, and he suffers from insomnia. What examples of empathy can we find in the practice of modern leaders?

The examples of the empathy in modern characters

Psychologists from the University of Michigan (USA) conducted a study of the level of empathy of people in different countries. The country with the highest level of empathy is Ecuador, followed by Saudi Arabia and Peru. And although these countries are more responsive, to demonstrate an example of empathy among modern leaders, it is easier for me to turn to the history of the United States, which was in the top ten (Chopik, 2017).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is arguably one of the greatest American presidents. His encounter with polio, which crippled him at an early age, and its transformative impact on him, Hart (2014) discusses in his essay focusing on his relationship with his doctor George Draper. (Hart, 2014). This transformation liberated energy in Roosevelt to lead and show empathy for others in ways that both challenged the political and social status quo in the USA as well as helped save the world from the threat of Fascism in World War II. The relationship of a very famous Franklin Delano Roosevelt patient with his doctor, his experience with a doctor, and his illness influenced his inner life, as well as his public persona and political achievements. This relationship embodied compassion as therapeutic empathy between doctor and patient. It helped Roosevelt face his suffering and enabled his political imagination to find expression in his presidency.

Leadership trait, empathy can be learned from Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most illustrious leaders in modern history. He showed that a support system is a key to achieving success in any endeavor. Gandhi taught us that a true leader is, among other things, compassionate and finds a balance between directness and empathy toward his followers (Koka, 2020). Gandhi united the citizens of India against the corrupt economic loopholes created by the British. To rally people, he communicated with empathy and compassion, expressing a deep understanding of their problems. Gandhi used diplomacy and compassion to solve most of the problems he faced. Because of his beliefs and methods, Gandhi had more power than any other man in his time.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn is a Russian writer, playwright, publicist, poet, public and political figure, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, who lived and worked in the USSR, Switzerland, the USA, and Russia. His books "Gulag Archipelago", "One Day of Ivan Denisovich" and many others are widely known. Solzhenitsyn was imprisoned. He wrote about the prisoners of Stalin's camps who were unjustly repressed and empathized with them. His stories are based on real events and are full of empathy for the characters who are the prototypes of his friends and acquaintances in prison. After his release, Solzhenitsyn devoted his life to the struggle for human rights and freedoms, he influenced many people.

The application to your ministry or workplace

Both the church and the company are organizations with common features inherent in them. The Church strives more to satisfy spiritual needs, while business has a broader set of tasks. Business puts professionalism first, not loyalty and personal preferences (Avakyan, 2021). While the non-commercial nature of the church's activities and altruism creates a different background for empathy, and it is perceived as more sincere. I expect more empathy from the Protestant community than in a commercial company. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that people's general expectations will be the same, at the same time exceptions may occur. The opposite opinion is expressed (Compton, 2020) in his book The end of empathy. Why white protestants stopped loving their neighbors. Despite the different views on where there is more empathy, I would like to offer some universal recommendations on the practice of using empathy in service and the workplace.

You should start with the rule – not harm. How can empathy hurt? Sensitive people often perceive work conflicts too acutely and spend all their energy on the problems of others. According to Fedorova (2018), it is very difficult for empaths to give negative feedback to subordinates and express (even justified) complaints about work, and their dissatisfaction with the result. They very rarely burden others with their experiences, so they burn out emotionally. The subconscious habit of blaming oneself for the difficulties and problems of others leads to biased self-accusation and self-eating, which keeps a person in the past, preventing him from moving forward. If you spend too much time on others, forgetting about yourself in the end, you can lose your meaning, value, and yourself. An empath may not even ask himself the question: why do I need this (for example, a new project, a call at work)? Or not to know the answer to it.

How can empathy contribute? Empathy helps to develop connections inside and outside the organization. This is especially important for churches whose members have been interacting with each other for years, and often all their lives. Despite the less significant time we spend on service compared to work and family, the community can compete with them in terms of empathy. Mutual understanding and empathy within the team make the environment and the employee's place in this environment more transparent and attractive to outside observers, and also contributes to productivity growth.

According to Melquist (2018), the development of empathy is not a difficult task if there is an understanding of what significant dividends it brings, including information from a client or an employee's admission of guilt. Despite this, a sincere desire to understand another person and establish a connection with him should always be the primary goal. Next, it is recommended to find common interests (Melquist, 2018).

How can leaders establish closer mutual understanding and empathy with colleagues at all levels of management? Having a vision allows leaders to develop an understanding of others, as well as to determine why something is happening. This involves observing someone else's actions in a particular situation and including yourself in that person's mindset at the same time and in the same place. In this way, we can understand why this person made this or that decision or took a certain action.

Such an approach can help leaders cope with difficult followers or communicate the intentions of senior managers who pursue a contradictory policy. Understanding the mindset of those who make decisions, as well as influencing staff, increases understanding of why the policy was implemented and helps to form a message that is equally understandable at all levels of the organization.

Mutual understanding and empathy are essential components of effective communication with other people, especially as modern technologies continue to make people more connected, but more psychologically isolated (Watson, 2012). Leaders at all levels should constantly strive to develop and apply these qualities within their organization to avoid misunderstanding and distrust. This can help companies and the churches they serve become true partners and build mutually beneficial relationships.

CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION

Because of the war of Russia against Ukraine, all citizens of Ukraine are suffering. Missile strikes on critical civilian infrastructure have left millions of Ukrainian families without heat and light. In Ukraine, the Rain TV channel has long been under sanctions because of the Crimean issue. According to the Ukrainian authorities, the rhetoric of the TV channel allowed viewers to make erroneous conclusions that the territory is part of Russia.

As a result, due to the scandalous statement of the journalist, the TV channel was also deprived of its broadcasting license in Latvia. Does it turn out that freedom of speech is being infringed by the countries that defend it? No. Freedom of speech is not permissiveness. The principles of free journalism do not contradict and have never contradicted the principles of common sense.

By analogy, empathy should manifest itself, in the context of culture, and the situation and take into account the consequences for the participants. Empathy should be appropriate. Restrictions, laws, and regulations exist to prevent conflicts. Empathy must also have a framework, otherwise, the consequences of its manifestation can be deplorable. As Joe-Joe McManus said, leadership should promote equality and justice, not increase tension, discrimination, and conflict (National Association of Independent Schools, 2016). Empathy as a leadership trait should also contribute to this.

This example of a scandalous statement in the conditions of war more clearly shows that empathy can be an object of envy or can be defined as injustice. Rain has a multi-million audience, which includes both Ukrainians and Russians. Showing empathy for some followers provoked the anger of other followers and thus exacerbated the conflict. The TV channel and the journalist himself have lost some subscribers, although they may have acquired new ones. Now the TV channel is looking for a new country to relocate to, and the journalist is looking for a new job. Both start from the beginning.

If a leader strives to be successful, he must understand that on the one hand, it is impossible without empathy and that on the other hand, empathy can be destructive to leadership. The use of empathy by a leader requires an analysis of opportunities and risks, consequences for followers, time, and place of its manifestation.

If you want empathy for yourself, give it to other people first. None of the approaches leads to mutual understanding as well as empathy and empathy. The only way for people to reach mutually beneficial solutions is to try to understand the other first, and then try to be understood by you. Try to understand other people's needs and concerns, show empathy and empathy, and you will be surprised by the results. All this may seem to you sentimental nonsense. But think about the following: until you satisfy people's need for empathy, you cannot motivate them to solve other problems or meet the needs of others (Covey, 2004).

Futurologist Watson (2012) sees two scenarios: Perhaps in the future, everything will become more and more personalized and short-term hedonism and promiscuity will flourish to the detriment of compassion and sustainable further development. We will live an extremely sensory, interactive, and individualized life. And another, more convincing scenario may be realized: we will rediscover that only direct contact with other people gives our life real meaning. Why are we alone together? Why do we expect more from technology and less from each other? The main question of the future of empathy is what is more important: the individual or the wider society (Turkle, 2012).

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