The Power of Empathy

It’s not rocket science. We all grew up with the Golden Rule -- treating others as one wants to be treated. This commonsense approach to treating others with respect and dignity has deep historical roots, in both religious and secular contexts.

We’d like to think that we treat everyone this way; that our instinct is to present the best example of our personal and professional core values when interacting with others.

But what happens when we are confronted with the attitude of a disgruntled co-worker or customer; or we are busy with deadline; or we are having a difficult day; or we get an urgent request at 5pm on a Friday afternoon?

These are all situations which challenge us to step up, but sometimes fall short, despite our best intentions.