Why Empathy Holds the Key to Transforming 21st Century Learning
By Thom Markham
NOVEMBER 16, 2016
Empathy underlies collaboration
"As social-emotional learning becomes more necessary to help students navigate life and work, empathy is getting more popular by the day, for good reason: Empathy lies at the heart of 21st century skillfulness in teamwork, collaboration and communication in a diverse world. Speaking or listening to someone without radiating empathy narrows the channel of communication or blocks connection altogether. Particularly in the new reality of a global world, without empathy you’re not ready to engage the 21st century, either in the workplace or across cultures. It has to be taught, practiced and coached."
4 Ways to Encourage Empathic Collaboration
"Have you ever been in a meeting where everyone is speaking over each other? Or how about one where no one is speaking up at all? In both of these scenarios, the right people might be in the room, but that won’t lead to breakthrough ideas if they can’t figure out how to work with each other.
Effective collaboration is fueled by empathy—an awareness of others and an ability to detect their emotions and understand their perspective. To come up with truly innovative solutions requires new ideas. And to bring new ideas to light requires seeking a diversity of perspectives and creating a welcoming space for people to share their ideas without fear of judgment."