“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
— Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Empathy. It is the experience of understanding another person’s thoughts, feelings, and condition from their point of view, rather than from your own. It sounds soft, but in the “disconnected” world in which we all live and work, practicing empathy is actually strategic.
I recently attended a professional women’s conference in Orlando where empathy was the topic of the opening session. It is also a key tenet in Tom Peter’s latest book The Excellence Divide: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work that Wows and Jobs That Last.
Of course, empathy is not a new concept, especially in healthcare, but it is one with which we continue to struggle, especially as technology dominates our daily lives.
Empathy is about connection. At its heart, empathy is not about YOU. It is about THEM. And THEM can be your patients, your referral sources, your staff — anyone upon whom you are dependent for success. By truly seeing their views and living out those values through your interactions, you are connecting, you are differentiating from your competitors, and you are re-humanizing your practice.
- Engage through empathetic actions.
- Spark two-way conversations.
- Speak in terms of benefits to THEM rather than features of YOU.
- Become customer-centric rather than product- or practice-centric.
- Seek and welcome other perspectives.
- Unlock the heart of each of your customers.
Empathy sounds easy, but it is hard work. It is a cultural shift. It isn’t a trend — it is a tenet, a trademark that defines your practice and sets you up for sustainable growth and success.