What is the benefit of empathy in team building?

presence of emotional intelligence that makes a team smarter.

Benefits

• Empathy increases social sensitivity to what the team is thinking or feeling.

• Empathy creates a sense of safey for interpersonal risk-taking

• Empathy creates a sense of interpersonal trust

• Empathy mediates conflicts and works toward solutions

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?

by Alan Alda

Chapter 8: Teams

2010, Anita Woolley -Study, what makes effective teams

• • 1. Ability of people to free express themselves.

  • 2. Woman's Present (because they are more empathic)

  • 3. Level of empathy in the team

Evidence from a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups

Authors:

• Anita Williams Woolley

• Christopher F. Chabris

• Alex Pentland

• Nada Hashmi

• Thomas Malone

Findings

"In the 192 groups of varying sizes, authors tested the hypothesis that group collective intelligence—or the idea that a group’s aptitude for performing one task is correlated with its ability to successfully navigate other tasks—would be present. Groups were asked to undertake visual puzzle solving, collective brainstorming, moral decision-making, and bargaining for resources. Group collective intelligence was found to exist separately from individual intelligence. Its main predictors are social sensitivity, the distribution of conversational turn-taking, and the proportion of female group members.

• • Groups where a few people dominated the conversation had less collective intelligence than groups in which many members took turns talking.

• Social sensitivity, or the ability to empathize with and appreciate another’s viewpoint, is the only predictor that reached statistical significance. Social sensitivity was measured by the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test, which measures how well one can make inferences about what others are thinking or feeling simply by looking at the eyes.

  • Collective intelligence is positively correlated with the proportion of females in the group, as women score higher on social sensitivity. Groups with more females had a higher collective social sensitivity, leading to a higher collective intelligence.

  • Group cohesion, satisfaction, and motivation were not found to be predictors of collective intelligence."

Evidence from a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups

Authors:

• Anita Williams Woolley

• Christopher F. Chabris

• Alex Pentland

• Nada Hashmi

• Thomas Malone

Findings

In the 192 groups of varying sizes, authors tested the hypothesis that group collective intelligence—or the idea that a group’s aptitude for performing one task is correlated with its ability to successfully navigate other tasks—would be present. Groups were asked to undertake visual puzzle solving, collective brainstorming, moral decision-making, and bargaining for resources. Group collective intelligence was found to exist separately from individual intelligence. Its main predictors are social sensitivity, the distribution of conversational turn-taking, and the proportion of female group members.

• • Groups where a few people dominated the conversation had less collective intelligence than groups in which many members took turns talking.

• Social sensitivity, or the ability to empathize with and appreciate another’s viewpoint, is the only predictor that reached statistical significance. Social sensitivity was measured by the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test, which measures how well one can make inferences about what others are thinking or feeling simply by looking at the eyes.

  • Collective intelligence is positively correlated with the proportion of females in the group, as women score higher on social sensitivity. Groups with more females had a higher collective social sensitivity, leading to a higher collective intelligence.

  • Group cohesion, satisfaction, and motivation were not found to be predictors of collective intelligence

• Empathy increases social sensitivity to what the team is thinking or feeling.

Empathy Makes Teams Work

GREG WILLIAMS

July 19, 2017

"Because empathy is about understanding other people’s perspectives, it enables us to be much, much more effective team members and problem solvers....

When team members don’t have enough empathy for each other, it’s hard for them to work collaboratively and find the right path forward. What’s more, a lack of empathy can lead to disagreement, frustration, and ill feelings"

What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team

New research reveals surprising truths about why some work groups thrive and others falter.

By CHARLES DUHIGGFEB. 25, 2016

"But to Sakaguchi, it made sense that psychological safety and emotional conversations were related. The behaviors that create psychological safety — conversational turn-taking and empathy — are part of the same unwritten rules we often turn to, as individuals, when we need to establish a bond. And those human bonds matter as much at work as anywhere else. In fact, they sometimes matter more."

• ‘‘conversational turn-taking’’

• Empathy creates a sense of safey for interpersonal risk-taking

• Empathy creates a sense of interpersonal trust

Team-Building Activities for Work Empathy

by Audra Bianca

Teach Empathy as a Team Asset

"A manager can reap the benefits of empathetic team members by teaching empathy as a team asset. For example, she can show employees evidence of how empathetic communication makes the workplace safer. For example, a manager can mediate a conflict between employees, encouraging them to share feelings, acknowledge them and work toward a solution. If employees don't feel heard on important issues, they might experience frustration and might try to take their anger out against the team in harmful ways, making the workplace miserable for all."

• • Empathy mediates conflicts and works toward solutions

The importance of empathy in the workplace

By: DeLores Pressley

"In the workplace, empathy can show a deep respect for co-workers and show that you care, as opposed to just going by rules and regulations. An empathic leadership style can make everyone feel like a team and increase productivity, morale and loyalty. Empathy is a powerful tool in the leadership belt of a well-liked and respected executive."

• "By understanding others we develop closer relationships...

• Empathy requires three things: listening, openness and understanding...

• When we understand our team, we have a better idea of the challenges ahead of us...

• Empathy takes work..."

Empathy and Great Teams

A few techniques to help teams build empathy