According to the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), empathy is a mental state that makes a person feel or identify himself in the same state of feeling or thought as another person or group. Empathyit seems that it hardly counts in the business world. But in reality, empathy is what is needed to get success. How can? First, if we have empathy, we will be able to understand the position and feelings experienced by others. We will not act arbitrarily and arbitrarily. Empathy also helps us to understand what is happening to other people. Second, empathy can connect us with the right people. The human brain is programmed to be able to see and connect with other people’s experiences. We always try to find common ground and make adjustments.
Empathy According to Experts
According to Wikipedia, Empathy comes from Greek which means physical attraction. This can be defined as a complex affective and cognitive response to other people’s emotional distress.
According to Thomas F. Mader and Diane C. Mader, Empathy is the ability a person has to share feelings that have a foundation of care.
According to Baron and Byrne in the book Social psychology, the notion of empathy is the ability to feel the emotional state of others, be sympathetic and try to solve problems, and take the perspective of others.
According to Hodges, SD and Klein, KJ, Empathy is an ability with a variety of different definitions covering a broad spectrum, revolving around others who create a person’s desire to help others, experience emotions similar to those of others, know what others feel and think, blur the lines between yourself and others.
According to Taylor, Empathy is an attempt to deepen the feelings of others so that he can feel and capture the meaning of what is felt by other people.
Empathy According to Other Psychologists
In addition to the above definition, to better understand what and how empathy really is, psychologists often provide definitions of empathy in accordance with their respective understandings. Some Understanding Empathy According to Other Psychologists, namely:
Adler
According to Alfred Adler, empathy is acceptance of other people’s feelings and can put ourselves in that person’s place. Empathy means to feel in, or a process when we stand for a moment in someone else’s shoes in order to feel how deeply that person feels.
Bullmer
Bullmer believes that empathy is a process that occurs when someone can feel the feelings of others and capture the meaning of these feelings, then communicated with such sensitivity that shows that the person really – truly understands the feelings of others. So according to Bullmer, empathy is more an understanding of others than in the form of a diagnosis or evaluation.
Goleman
Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence states that basically empathy is the ability to understand the emotions that other people feel. Goleman also notes that there are deeper levels of understanding, defining and reacting to caring and needs that underlie reactions and other emotional responses.
Hurlock
According to Hurlock, empathy is one’s ability to be able to understand the feelings and emotions of others, and also the ability to imagine oneself in another person’s place and live out that person’s experience. He stated that the ability of empathy began to emerge at the end of early childhood or around six years.
Kohler
In 1929, Kohler, one of the first experts to debate empathy and its relationship with cognitive aspects. Kohler argues that instead of empathy focused on the deepest feelings, empathy actually emphasizes how to understand the feelings of others rather than sharing with them. Empathy can change a person by being a pleasant person and by eliminating selfishness.
Mead
George Herbert Mead in Eisenberg (2000) states that empathy is a form of capacity to take on the roles of others and adopt the perspectives of others and connect them to oneself. Mead adds a cognitive component or ability to understand in the definition of empathy, with an emphasis on the capacity of individuals to understand how one sees the world through other people’s roles.
Nancy Eisenberg
According to Nancy Eisenberg, empathy is an affective response originating from the arrest or understanding of the emotional state or also other conditions, which are similar to the feelings of others. Empathy is the ability to put oneself in the position of others and be able to feel appreciation of the feelings of others, but still be able to maintain his true identity. Emotions felt by someone do not result in someone losing their identity.
Benefits of Empathy
Empathy in yourself has many benefits for success . Let’s look at the 5 main benefits generated if we have empathy.
1. Identity.
Empathy affects self-identity. We tend to judge ourselves by paying attention to the people who spend time with us. Now, when we have empathy, we can know clearly who and what we are like.
2. Cooperation.
Empathy is useful for increasing teamwork. Empathy also helps teams can do things together effectively. In a study, the decision making process involving empathy in it can enhance teamwork and foster empathy in each team member. Yes, when showing empathy, we can foster empathy in others.
3. Innovation.
Empathy can expand one’s territory and mindset and be able to test new ideas that have not been known before. This is what is part of the process of creating innovation. Of course, making innovation is very important for career advancement. Innovation makes us continue to grow and experience improvement. We will never experience a deadlock or even a career setback.
4. Give effect.
Besides being beneficial to the community, empathy also produces benefits for individuals. Empathy can increase the confidence needed to show who we are, influence others and make us able to put ourselves in the shoes of others. Usually, we need this when discussing. With empathy, we are also able to accept the other person’s point of view first and bring that person into our own view. Empathy is really needed when we disagree with other people’s opinions. When we have something in common with others, we will be easy to have empathy, but this will not be easy when we have different thoughts from other people. Empathy makes us able to understand the differences and see things from another perspective, not just our own perspective. Empathy can not change your mind, but it can help us to respect other people and connect in the right way.
5. Empathy and action.
There are two ways you can empathize. First, we can empathize by considering the thoughts of others. We imagine what it feels like to be someone and what will be thought of when we are in their position. This is what is called cognitive empathy. Second, we can empathize by focusing on other people’s feelings. We imagine what the feelings are like when you are in that person’s position. This is what is called emotional empathy.
Cognitive empathy and emotional empathy both have the benefit of identity, cooperation, influence and broaden the mindset we have. We will find it easier to understand the circumstances experienced by someone when imagining themselves in the situation. Of course, this will be very beneficial if we have the ability of cognitive empathy and emotional empathy. We will be able to understand and appreciate the thoughts and feelings of others. This enables us not to be selfish. The most important thing is action. If you have the ability to empathize cognitively or emotionally, it will not be meaningful if we do not take real action. All the empathy we have must be reflected in concrete, compassionate actions.
The act of empathy means understanding the struggles faced by coworkers, being willing to offer help or respecting the differences of opinion that others have. Empathy can also be reflected in actions when we are able to debate in a healthy way and find the best solution. Empathy can also be reflected by considering the opinions of other coworkers and giving advice that can help the team achieve success.
Others may not be able to remember the actions we made, but they will remember how we shape their feelings. By having empathy, we can ensure that the actions taken can create positive feelings that will be remembered in the long run. That way, we will be able to build positive relationships and produce positive things too. Of course, this will have an impact on both the organization and ourselves.
So, whoever and whatever position we try to always have empathy and show it in real action. We must have empathy when presenting ideas or when working with teams. That way, we will be able to work well together and achieve our goals. Other results? We will be seen as having value. We will also have a broader mindset that can help achieve personal goals. Come on, from now on, we train ourselves to empathize and manifest it in real action.
