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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Category Archives: Current Events

February 4, 2026 Empathy As a Superpower

Empathy is a term that is used frequently and not always in a positive manner. It is sometimes viewed as weak or wishy-washy. And some people even see it as political. In truth, empathy is not a sign of weakness but of strength. And it isn’t political, or religious, or only meant for a certain segment of the population. Rather, it is deeply human and more necessary than ever.

It’s important to note that empathy is not the same as sympathy. Sympathy relates to feeling sorry for another, or even pitying them. Empathy is more about understanding. It’s about expanding your horizons to see another’s perspective. It’s about being curious and open enough to want to understand. This innate curiosity helps people of all backgrounds and beliefs work together, live side by side, and cooperate.

Because no two people are alike, empathy can, indeed, be a superpower. It’s a way to reach others, negotiate, and have productive dialogues. When there’s a need for creativity or brainstorming solutions, it’s a way of gathering different ideas and making sense of them. That’s because empathy goes hand-in-hand with solution seeking. It is essentially the opposite of combativeness or stubbornness.

In my experience, empathetic leaders are often skilled at bringing out the best in their teams. These individuals understand the importance of truly listening—soaking in both what someone is saying and the context or subtext related to what is being said. For example, if a team member is adamant about gearing a product toward working parents, an empathetic leader might think about what they know about that team member. Maybe they are a single mother who faces numerous everyday challenges. As such, their passion makes sense, and the empathetic leader will know they are speaking from experience. Likely, this person is not the only one who is facing similar struggles, and it is probably smart to consider their perspective when developing products or solutions.

Empathy is useful in all different contexts, both within and outside of the workplace. It’s a simple fact that everyone wants to be understood and listened to. Because of this, an empathetic person makes a good conversation partner by giving others the space to express themselves and explain their perspective. That doesn’t mean being a pushover, and it doesn’t mean an empathetic person doesn’t have their own opinions and beliefs. It simply means that they are open to listening and understanding.

In a world where things are often portrayed as black and white, empathy is a courageous but necessary choice. Without it, we would constantly be at loggerheads with others, stuck in a single perspective. That’s not productive, and it only creates animosity and hard feelings. Rather, let’s make an effort to choose empathy and start really listening to what others have to say. That can make all the difference.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.

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July 19, 2013 The Agile Learner In The Ever-Changing World

I haven’t chosen to focus on learning agility now merely to say that being agile is a healthy and beneficial attitude to possess. While this is certainly true, I’ve decided to address this topic because there are plenty of studies that show how the global economy is here to stay, and that this new environment of constant innovation demands that leaders be willing and able to adapt.

I’ll give you some examples:

1. Global trade of goods and services will more than triple to $27 trillion by 2030, which tells us that the global economy is only increasing in scope

2. The Internet has radically impacted how we do business, beyond simply e-mailing people more frequently. According to an article from John Hopkins University Press, it “became a catalyst for new business models, strategies, and organizational structures,” which is to say, the Internet turned all business on its head and forced us to rework how we do things from the ground up.

3. The quantity of new information doubles every 2 years. This means that any worker, no matter the job, will need to be retrained as new developments (like the Internet) arrive. It also means that college freshmen will need to adapt once they graduate, as the skills they learned in school will most likely become outdated even in the few years’ time they were in school.

So, we know that when we talk about business, we are talking about something that works on a worldwide level and is constantly being reinvented to meet the requirements of new information and new technology.

It is for these reasons that being agile as a leader and learner is so vital to your success in today’s world. You cannot compete by sticking to one way of doing things anymore. Instead, you must internalize the practice of remaining agile as you encounter change.

What’s more, your performance in the past no longer carries as much weight as your potential for future growth and adaptability. Since the new normal is to be ever-changing, leaders evaluate you by how much you’re able to acutely perform under change. Learning agility, not past performance, is viewed as a key indicator of potential, because “fully 71% of high performers were not high potentials.”

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November 18, 2011 Congrats to My St. Catherine University Sales Students

I am so proud of my sales students for their stellar performance at this year’s “Can’t Beat the Experience” national team sales competition at Indiana University:
From the Center for Sales Innovation: National Sales Competition Offered Real-Life Lessons

Four Healthcare Sales seniors competed as a team at a recent national team sales competition at Indiana University. Left to right are Ali Marson, Haley Kelliher, Amanda Braun, Kelsey Kromminga, who say that the competition’s case was similar to cases presented in St. Kate’s business classes.

A team of Healthcare Sales seniors placed in the top 10 out of 21 participating universities in the recent “Can’t Beat the Experience” National Team Sales Competition. Hosted by Indiana University, the event showcased presentations made in support of a private-label, organic popcorn sold into a fictional store. The students were judged based on their product packaging, sampling and social media solutions.”We had a morning appointment with one of the buyers/managers of this fictitious store to ask questions and dig for problems so that we could present solutions,” according to Kelsey Kromminga. “This allowed us to apply our classroom learning — role-playing around questioning, asking open-ended questions and building rapport — and ideas from the bookBeyond Selling Value.”

Alison Marson said that learning to take critical feedback is an important take-away from this competition. She said, “The judging processes helped us to understand the meaning of ‘no’ from a customer. Sometimes you need to dig deeper and ask more questions to gain information to solve the customer’s problem. That’s where our classroom skills in overcoming objections came into play as we centered around a solution fit for the customer.”

“Prepare, prepare, prepare,” said Haley Kelliher, who thinks that everyone should have the opportunity to compete like this during their college experience. “It provides the best learning and real-life experience.”

All students expressed that they had overthought some of their ideas and, looking back, wished they had stuck with their intuition because some of the original ideas offered better benefits. They also learned the importance of time management and working as a team.

Thanks for all of your hard work, SCU Sales students!

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