From the course: Communicating with Emotional Intelligence
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Balance empathy and accountability
From the course: Communicating with Emotional Intelligence
Balance empathy and accountability
- Your colleague Andrew makes a big mistake that has a serious consequence for you and your work. You're trying to be an emotionally intelligent, empathetic coworker. What should you say? Should you say anything? Absolutely. Empathy and accountability can co-exist, and here's how. First, talk about expectations before problems happen. Had you clearly communicated your needs before Andrew made the mistake? People generally want to do a good job, which means they need to know your expectations. Next, realize that you can disagree with someone and still be empathetic. Empathy is the ability to see the world as another person sees it, but you may still see the world differently yourself. Empathy is the ability to understand another person's feelings without judgment, but we aren't obligated to endorse behaviors just because we understand the feelings and the worldview that were at play. You could ask Andrew what happened…
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