Some people do naturally display higher levels of empathy, in the same way that some show greater emotional intelligence. However, empathy for leaders isn’t solely an innate skill. The positive news is that it can be learnt and coached so that any leader can become more empathic, although it is vital that it is genuine, rather than leaders just paying lip service to the concept. A failure to be truly empathic will be soon spotted by employees and will actively lead to them becoming demotivated and disengaged. Equally the more you practice empathy, the better you will become at it.
Read more about the five skills which will underpin more empathic leadership.