“What is empathy” essay
Empathy is the ability to feel the emotions of other people. It means feeling together with someone, and this requires a sense of equality. It differs from sympathy in that empathy is a feeling for someone, especially pity, which is often the result of an inequality of circumstances. Sympathy – there is separation, empathy is – unity.
To empathize, you do not need to think that the feelings of the other person are logical or justified, and you do not need to behave in a particular way. Empathy does not force you to compromise with your own feelings and does not require you to judge. But you need to imagine what another person feels and why.
You often hear people say, explaining why they chose a certain person as a partner: “He understands me like no other.” This is a measure of a keen desire to be understood, this shows why empathy is so important in a relationship.
Sensitive people feel the most insignificant social signals that show what
“You can not call the leader of that person who can not put himself in the shoes of another,” wrote Gus Pagonis, a former lieutenant-general of the US Army who headed the security service during the first Gulf War and later became head of the logistics department in Sears. Pagonis talks about how important it was for him as a manager of empathy in the complex context of the war.
He asked himself such questions as: what do other people in our team need? Why do they think they need it, and how can we give it to them? Such questions force the leader to look at things from the perspective of another person.
During the military service, Pagonis realized one of his bad habits: talking to his subordinates, he could quickly see the
Pagonis also used empathy (empathy) in his work with the Arabs. Responsibility for the behavior of half a million American soldiers in a Muslim country was a difficult matter and required special diplomacy. The Arabs were concerned that the female soldiers unloaded the boxes with their heads uncovered and their sleeves rolled up. Since he could put himself in the place of the Arabs, look at the problem from their point of view, Pagonis found a solution that was beneficial to both sides: in public, all soldiers are shirts with long sleeves, and women – hats. This minimal concession had an excellent diplomatic outcome.
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