 At a leader development forum last week, a former Secretary of Defense was asked what the most important competency for strategic leaders was. The first thing he mentioned was understanding and empathy for your people. He was talking about the most senior leaders in the Department of Defense. What does the data say about this statement? There are numerous studies that correlate empathy and performance. If we think about our own workplace, when our boss takes time to listen or relate to us, we are motivated to excel. This is borne out in a study of over 6,700 managers from 38 countries by the Center for Creative Leadership where empathic behavior was positively correlated with performance. If you promote the importance of understanding, caring, and developing others alongside performance metrics, empathy will increase. Lead well this week.