Most leaders say empathy matters. Far fewer employees say they experience it. We look at why genuine empathy is a leadership capability, and what it looks like in practice.
With insight from Emma du Parcq, Head of Consulting, Research and Thought Leadership
There is a persistent gap between how leaders talk about empathy and how employees experience it. Businessolver’s annual US State of Workplace Empathy study has documented that gap for years. Its 2026 edition adds a timely twist: people who describe their leaders as empathetic are much more likely to see AI as something that helps them, rather than something that adds pressure.
At Roffey Park, we see the same pattern in our work with organisations. Closing the gap between what leaders intend and what their people feel is where empathy stops being a value on the wall and becomes a practical leadership skill.
It can’t sit with one team
Some organisations respond to the empathy question by giving it an owner, such as HR or a dedicated role. Emma du Parcq, who leads our consulting, research and thought leadership work, is clear that this misses the point.
Empathy has to be part of how everyone leads, especially the leaders most focused on results.
The business case is straightforward. When people feel genuinely understood, decisions draw on better information, teams hold together under pressure and change meets less resistance. People commit far more readily to something they feel they’ve been heard on.
Performed empathy backfires
The risk is empathy that’s only for show: the nod, the sympathetic expression, with no real attempt to understand. Most people can tell. When they do, trust drops, and trust is what every working relationship rests on. The conversations organisations most need, about worries, mistakes and disagreements, quietly stop.
Dropping the hard/soft divide
Labelling empathy a ‘soft skill’ undersells it. Every strategic priority depends on attracting talent, collaborating well and generating ideas, and all of that depends on people who are engaged and who trust their leaders.
Technology is also changing the equation. As more routine work is automated, leaders have a real opportunity to spend more time on connection. What they can’t do is hand trust-building to a system or a team. It has to come from them.
Empathy in everyday moments
Empathy is rarely about big gestures. It shows up when a colleague wants to talk something through, or when two people see an issue very differently. Emma’s advice is to stop, give the person your full attention and ask a question you genuinely want answered. For example:
- “What might I not be seeing here?”
- “What’s making this feel difficult for you?”
- “Talk me through your concerns about this plan.”
Moments like these, repeated consistently, are what people remember about a leader.
Building the capability
Empathy develops through practice, feedback and reflection, not just knowing it matters. That’s why our programmes, from Advanced Leadership & Management Practice to our short Impact and Influence Short Course, centre on real conversations and live challenges and why coaching is often part of the journey.
