Is it possible to be empathetic and hold fierce accountability?

By Jayson Krause, Managing Director of Level 52 & Award-Winning Author of The Science Behind Success

It not only can happen, it absolutely needs to happen. That is, if meaningful impact and performance are important to you and your team. You can be empathetic with others and really seek to understand what they are experiencing and what’s important to them. What you can’t do is hold them fiercely accountable for things that just aren’t important to them.

So first, leverage your empathy to understand the person in front of you (not just the job title) and seek to understand what drives them. Then, be fierce in holding them accountable for the things they say are important. I love the saying that your best friends don’t accept you as you are, they hold the standard for what you could be. Great leaders do the same by holding a balance of empathy (understanding and acceptance) and fierce accountability (integrity and growth). You already know that pressure forms diamonds and when you truly value someone, you create the pressure and accountability to help them shine.

I dive deeper into this subject in this 18-minute podcast episode.