Abstract

Empathy is acknowledged as an important leadership quality. There is general agreement that empathetic leaders “enhance mutual communication and generate mutual trust … between the leader and the follower” (Mackay, Hughes, & Carver, 1990, p. 57). Empathetic leaders do more than just sympathize with the people around them; they use their emotional intelligence to improve their organizations in subtle but important ways (Goleman, 2005).