The E Suite: Empathetic Leadership for the Next Generation of Executives

The concept of leading with empathy is not a new one but, as authors Kuhn (The Manager’s Communications Tool Kit) and Frick point out, it’s more important than ever in the current climate of intense competition for qualified employees. Judging by the many recent empathy-related business titles—Gautham Pallapa’s Leading with Empathy, A. Sophie Wade’s Empathy Works, and Michael Ventura’s Applied Empathy are just a few examples—this is a widely-held opinion. This book is organized into three sections that focus on employing empathy to build a high-performing team, weaving empathy into management styles, and integrating it into business practices. Kuhn and Frick cover the standard management guide topics: attracting and hiring talent, engaging and developing employees, communicating and resolving differences; transformation and managing change; building marketing and sales; but they also enrich many of the chapters with guidance related to embracing diversity effectively, and recognizing and eliminating bias. The authors further illustrate their points with real-world vignettes and five appendices that guide readers through some of the book’s suggested practices.