Dear Reader,

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In today’s world, leadership isn’t just about making decisions or driving results. It’s about creating space—space for others to thrive, innovate, and collaborate in meaningful ways. As leaders, we’re being called upon to rise to challenges we’ve never faced before. The pandemic reshaped how we think about work, connection, and expectations. And now we’re seeing clear evidence that those who lead with empathy are not just creating better workplaces—they’re driving better outcomes.

In this edition of Whole Leader Dispatch we will focus on empathy as a critical way of being for fostering connection, trust, innovation, and impact. In my latest blog, I talk about empathy—not as a nice-to-have but as a state of being that is critical for leadership success. Drawing from groundbreaking research, including The Empathy Advantage by Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley and Michael Ventura's Applied Empathy, we’ll dive into actionable strategies to make empathy more than a buzzword in your leadership approach. I’ll also share a real-life story from a recent training session that showed how even small steps toward empathy can yield powerful results.

I’ve also highlighted some resources to help you continue to learn and hone your leadership.

On another note, I could really use your help in reaching others. I would really appreciate it if you shared my newsletter with three to five of your friends and colleagues and encouraged them to subscribe.

With you every step of the way.

Clear eyes. Full hearts.
​Paula

Field Report: Leadership Insights

​Empathy as a Strategic Superpower: Leading with awareness of others in a complex world​

• Empathy is no longer a "soft skill"—it’s a strategic superpower for modern leaders. In my recent blog, I explore how empathetic leadership fosters engagement, innovation, and retention. Here are a few compelling data points–teams with empathetic leaders report 76% higher engagement, 50% more idea-sharing, and are 3.2x more likely to stay with their organizations.
• Empathy is not about fixing others but creating space for them to thrive—a critical skill in today’s complex workplace. Start small: breathe, plan, listen, and notice what shifts.
• A few key takeaways from the blog include practicing mindful listening with the "3-Second Rule," asking better questions to understand others, and creating feedback-rich cultures.
• The future belongs to leaders who see empathy as a powerful strategy to solve tomorrow’s challenges.

Spotlight on Whole Leader Lab Services: Lead, Empower, and Thrive with EI

Transform Your Leadership Pipeline: Equip Your Leaders with Emotionally Intelligent Strategies to Drive Revenue, Retention, and Resilience

In an era where 90% of top performers excel in emotional intelligence (EQ) and companies led by high-EQ executives see 20% higher productivity (Harvard Business Review), can your leadership team afford to fall behind?

The Strategic Imperative: EQ Is Your Competitive Edge

Emotional intelligence isn’t a “soft skill”—it’s the accelerator for hard results. Organizations led by emotionally intelligent leaders report:

• 34% lower turnover (Gallup)
• 2x higher innovation (McKinsey)
• 70% faster decision alignment across teams

Your leaders set the emotional thermostat of your company. When they master EQ, they ignite engagement, nurture loyalty, and create cultures where talent thrives and bottom lines grow.

Introducing the Lead, Empower, Thrive with Emotional Intelligence cohort-based program. In partnership with Genos North America, I am offering a neuroscience-backed leadership accelerator for senior teams ready to future-proof their impact.

Why This Isn’t Another Training Program

Outcomes-Driven: Move from theory to measurable behavior change with a 3-month cohort model tailored to advance your organization's priorities.

ROI-Focused: Equip leaders to reduce burnout costs, retain top talent, and drive cross-functional collaboration.

Built for Busy Executives: Biweekly, 90 minute sessions over 3 months efficiently fit strategic development into existing workflows.

Key Leadership Shifts:

→ Transform conflict into creative problem-solving.

→ Turn uncertainty into agile decision-making.

→ Replace silos with psychologically safe, high-performing teams.

Join me for an upcoming free Whole Leader Lab Webinar on March 6 to learn more about:

• the neuroscience of emotional intelligence,
• a simple, powerful, actionable EQ leadership model,
• six practices that you can begin to use to hone our EQ
• the design and experience of the Lead, Empower, and Thrive with EI program

​Register for the webinar here!​

The Bottom Line: This isn’t about teaching your leaders to be “nicer”—it’s about empowering them to execute strategy with unparalleled ability to increase connection, engagement, and results.

Your Next Step: Forward this to your CHRO or L&D lead with the note: “Let’s discuss enrolling our leadership team and schedule a call to talk with Paula Shannon. The cost of inaction is rising.”

I would love partner with you and help you continue to develop the leaders in your organization. Let’s talk!

Dispatch Toolkit

• Paula’s Recommendations–
  • Book: Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute
    • This classic read explores how perceiving others’ needs and emotions leads to effective leadership and better collaboration.
  • Podcast: The Empathy Edge with Maria Ross - Episode 244
    • What do you do when striving to be a more human-centered leader or colleague, trying to advance your career, build your skills, and make a difference, and you're stuck with an imperfect leader, dysfunctional culture, or too much work? You start by leading yourself!
  • Practical Tool: Empathic Listening Circles for Team Connection
    • To foster greater empathy, build trust, and enhance psychological safety within teams, you can combine Mindful Listening techniques with the concept of an Empathy Circle. When you intentionally integrate this type of activity into a monthly team meeting or quarterly retreat, you encourage team members to strengthen their interpersonal connections and feel more valued and understood. This activity is rooted in Amy Edmondson’s psychological safety research, inclusive leadership principles (McKinsey), and mindful listening strategies.

Community Engagement

How do you show empathy as a leader?

• Practice self-awareness rituals (e.g., box breathing, setting intentions)?
• Use mindful listening to understand, not just respond?
• Create psychological safety by validating team emotions?
• Integrate daily empathy routines (e.g., morning rituals)?

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I'd love to hear from you. Drop me a line - paula.shannon@wholeleaderlab.org