Empathy is under attack.
We’re watching a growing effort to malign empathy—as if caring for one another is weakness. But empathy is powerful. It develops prosocial behaviors like collaboration, forgiveness, sharing, and solidarity. And people invested in maintaining control know that when communities practice empathy, power begins to shift.
In my work helping organizations and leaders clarify their values, empathy comes up again and again. People want to center it. But here’s the truth: while most of us believe empathy matters, very few know how to practice it in ways that are consistent, strategic, and transformative.
Empathy isn’t a fixed trait. It’s a discipline.
Like any discipline, it can be strengthened—but only through practice. And practice isn’t about sentimentality; it’s about developing the capacity to see the systems shaping our lives and to respond with greater clarity and care.
At its most basic, empathy is the ability to understand another person’s experience. I take it further:
Empathy is the ability to understand the human condition—and the systemic forces that shape it.
That’s why we begin with self-reflection. The same systems that shape someone else’s perspective also shape our own. By practicing reflection on how our beliefs, emotions, and choices take root, we strengthen our ability to understand how others form theirs. Self-reflection is training for empathy.
In practice
Here’s one way to strengthen your empathy practice.
Take a moment to think about an issue or idea that you have a solid opinion on—something that feels meaningful but not overwhelming and shapes how you interact with others.
Spend five minutes with these questions, and write down what you notice:
Where did I first learn or hear this belief, and from whom?
What experiences or identities have shaped it?
What emotions come up when I think about it?
When have I changed my mind before, and what helped me do that?
Pausing with questions like these builds the muscle of reflection. It grounds us in the reality that none of our perspectives are formed in isolation—and that’s what opens the door to empathy.
From there, we can lead in ways that builds authentic connections and relationships with people and help create the conditions for equity, justice, and collective growth.
