Exercises to Boost Empathy on Your Team. Fostering a culture of empathy is key to building trust with your team. Here are some exercises that can help your team collectively practice compassion and emotional recognition. - Appreciation round. One person completes the following sentence about a colleague and then tags the next person, or the next person volunteers: "What I appreciate about you, John, is…" The more specific and detailed you can be about the behavior or attribute, the better.
- Complete-the-sentence. Ask people to complete one of these statements, either verbally or in writing: "Compassion is hardest when..." or "I made a difference yesterday when I..." or "I show up every day because..."
- Step-in circles. Get everyone together in a circle and ask them to move forward (or raise their hand) when they agree with a statement. After each statement, ask people to move back to the original circle or lower their hand. Start with a more superficial statement ("Step in if you prefer the beach to the mountains"), then increase vulnerability as you go ("Step in if you feel like you are not enough some days...").
- Personal notes. Provide note cards for employees to use to recognize someone, express gratitude, or acknowledge an emotional event. Remote employees can mail their cards or use e-cards.
| | | | Today’s Tip | | Exercises to Boost Empathy on Your Team | Fostering a culture of empathy is key to building trust with your team. Here are some exercises that can help your team collectively practice compassion and emotional recognition.
- Appreciation round. One person completes the following sentence about a colleague and then tags the next person, or the next person volunteers: "What I appreciate about you, John, is…" The more specific and detailed you can be about the behavior or attribute, the better.
- Complete-the-sentence. Ask people to complete one of these statements, either verbally or in writing: "Compassion is hardest when..." or "I made a difference yesterday when I..." or "I show up every day because..."
- Step-in circles. Get everyone together in a circle and ask them to move forward (or raise their hand) when they agree with a statement. After each statement, ask people to move back to the original circle or lower their hand. Start with a more superficial statement ("Step in if you prefer the beach to the mountains"), then increase vulnerability as you go ("Step in if you feel like you are not enough some days...").
- Personal notes. Provide note cards for employees to use to recognize someone, express gratitude, or acknowledge an emotional event. Remote employees can mail their cards or use e-cards.
| | This tip is adapted from “Practice Empathy as a Team,” by Christine Porath and Adrienne Boissy | | |  | | Leading business reading. | | With an HBR subscription, you’ll get access to 50 of our best-selling articles and a wealth of content and resources, written by the world’s leading business minds. | | | | |  | | Article | | How to Become a Digital Nomad | | by Rowena Hennigan | | A guide to getting your boss on board, figuring out the details, and other common challenges. | | | | | | | | | | | |
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