“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” – Mohsin Hamid
We believe empathy is one of the most important ingredients enabling effectiveness and so we connected with some amazing folks to ask them about the conditions that allowed them to develop into such empathic leaders.
Denise Fraile
I think empathy was always part of who I was—but it wasn’t until my life nearly fell apart that I truly understood what it means. After a catastrophic riding accident left me with a traumatic brain injury, I woke up in a hospital bed unsure whether I would ever fully return to the person I had been. Read More>>
Donna Francart
As a child, I was shy and unusually sensitive to the emotions around me. I grew up in a loving home with both parents and two siblings, where kindness wasn’t just encouraged—it was expected. My parents taught us to treat every person with respect, no matter their title, financial status, or background. Read More>>
Julia Linden
My story began as an unstable one. Both parents facing uncertain futures, a season of homelessness, and a body that was already fighting before I had the words to describe it. I was born with a non-functioning kidney and endured multiple surgeries before I was old enough to understand what was happening. What I did understand early, was pain. Read More>>
Alexis Mason
Funny enough, even though I’m a counselor now, years ago I was fired from a job because I was told I didn’t display the necessary empathy for the position. I believe the most empathetic people you will meet are those who have felt their own emotions most deeply. This didn’t happen for me until much later in life. Read More>>
Madeline Hatch
For me, empathy developed through proximity to people’s real struggles and the responsibility of helping them work through them. In my work in health and fitness, I sit across from people who are trying to change habits that have been part of their lives for years—sometimes decades. Read More>>
