Leading with heart: how empathy beats autocracy in management
By Stephanie Oley

By fostering leadership with empathy, businesses can help shape a workplace culture where their best people choose to stay.

Not happy with your company's hybrid work arrangements, new manager or divisive office politics?

You're not alone. And in many organisations, these issues are passed straight to Human Resources (HR) to deal with. But according to leadership expert and CCE facilitator Kate Peardon, this is a mistake – and it stems from an incorrect approach to leadership.

‘Too often, technical experts are promoted into leadership without having the people skills they need,' Peardon says. ‘So when issues arise, they're handed off to HR, when really, they should've been managed by the leader.'

When leadership falls short

These so-called HR problems range from team conflict to underperformance. One recurring issue is the shift in expectations around working from home. Post-pandemic, many professionals grew used to hybrid flexibility. Now, expectations in some workplaces are swinging back towards full-time office presence. This shift is creating friction between managers and highly skilled professionals, many of whom value flexibility.

Another rising issue is workplace ethics. Gen Z, in particular, is vocal about aligning personal values with employer values. Peardon recalls a marketing firm wrestling with staff backlash over their use of a controversial social media platform.

These clashes aren't trivial. Talent is scarce, and businesses can't afford to lose good people over avoidable friction. According to Washington-based Pew Research, 57% of workers left jobs after feeling disrespected. And in Australia, Seek found that 30% of staff leave their roles due to management issues, often within their first three months.

‘So much of this churn could be prevented with leadership that's more self-aware and empathetic,' Peardon says.

The shift from autocrat to empath

We're used to associating leadership with control, thanks to historical figures like Napoleon and Elizabeth I, or fictional bosses like Darth Vader and Miranda Priestley (from The Devil Wears Prada). But leadership is evolving.

Since the rise of emotional intelligence in the 1990s, a new model of leadership has emerged: one that favours empathy, trust and collaboration over fear and force.

Peardon has seen this shift firsthand in executive leadership roles and now helps organisations embrace a more human-centred approach. Her work is grounded in Positive Psychology and real-world business strategy.

‘An effective leader today leads with empathy and by example, not by ruling with an iron fist,' she explains. ‘This creates a healthier culture, which means fewer issues escalate to HR.'

Leadership can, and should, be learned

Few are born knowing how to lead. But with the right training, leaders can manage challenges before they escalate. This was the focus of Peardon's talk at the HR Leaders Forum in May, sponsored by CCE.

In her session: ‘Are your leaders building high-performers, or creating more problems for HR?', Peardon discussed practical strategies and tools that help leaders handle challenges proactively, instead of relying on HR to clean up the mess.

Her topic seemed to hit a nerve, as she gathered from the audience's answer to one poll question especially: on where their managers and leaders are getting stuck. The response? ‘Despite being motivated and knowing what was expected of them, many managers or leaders simply didn't have the skills.'

As Peardon maintains, these skills can be learned. She shared two important mindsets critical for business leaders wanting to get this right:

• Understand the two leadership levers: People and tasks
  Leaders often get promoted for their technical skills (the ‘Task' lever) but overlook the equally important ‘People' lever. Strong leaders know how to balance both.
• Master some leadership readiness tools
  Practical frameworks are available for HR teams to identify, coach and support emerging leaders, supporting them in a leadership training pathway before issues arise. Leadership training can introduce leaders to many such tools, and coach them on effective usage.

Leadership builds the future

Leadership shapes more than organisational culture – it can reshape entire businesses. As a recent McKinsey Quarterly article noted, Netflix would not be the global entertainment powerhouse it is today if leadership had stuck with its origins as a DVD rental company. Similarly, financial services company Aon would have remained a ‘federated gathering of fiefdoms' if not for its leaders' vision for collaboration, according to the piece.

Peardon's work has achieved similar transformations for her clients, guiding leaders to ‘grow into themselves' and lead others more effectively. Many insights, experiences and frameworks she uses in her client-facing roles are introduced at CCE's two-day Leadership Course, which covers everything from self-awareness and leadership styles to the subtleties of workplace culture and cultural competence.

More experienced leaders can amplify these approaches by learning better skills in delegation, performance evaluation, goal setting and more at CCE's popular Team Managers and Leaders Course: The Master Class.

Final thought

Empathy isn't soft. It's smart, strategic, and essential in today's workplaces. If we want stronger teams, lower turnover and better business outcomes, it's time to lead with heart, and give our leaders the tools to do it well.