Why Empathy?
Our team has more than 25 years of experience helping clients grow, innovate, and transform, within the global consulting firm of McKinsey & Company and as entrepreneurs. With the help of innovative clients, we came to see clearly that organizational empathy is the missing link to both innovation (e.g., sustained growth and renewal, EBITDA performance) and inclusion (e.g., engaged employees, diverse leaders).
With eyes wide open, we started working and learning differently. We focused more on the WHO and less on the WHAT. We drew inspiration from recent work on Benefit Corporations, Conscious Capitalism, and Firms of Endearment, as well as empathy research, and the state of the art in diversity/inclusion.
Although we admire much of this work, the lens of empathy brings everything into sharper focus. We developed our proprietary Currency of Empathy ® diagnostic in partnership with clients who are achieving elusive innovation inside (higher than average industry growth and EBITDA). Even these innovative organizations have room to improve. Our CofE® wheel is their compass.
One of the surprising aspects of our work versus everything else out there is the relationship between caring at home (e.g., parenting) and innovative leadership. It has led us to develop a manifesto for changing the systems we lean into.