Empathy is an incredibly important skill for leaders. In my previous article about empathy, I discuss in-depth why empathy is so important, along with facts and figures that show the effect empathetic leadership (or leadership that lacks empathy) can have on your workplace, culture, and bottom-line. But empathy can be elusive. How can you empathise with people when you don't understand what they are going through?

Research shows that by the second week of February, the majority of our grand plans for the new year are usually out the window. Before giving up on the intentions and plans you made a month ago, though, try doing a quick self retro. It’s really easy and can be done in 3 simple steps.

A few weeks ago, I ran a poll on LinkedIn and Twitter asking a simple question:

Which human skill do you think is most essential to building great products?

Self awareness

Empathy

Influence

Managing conflict

As you’re reading an article on empathy, you probably have a pretty good idea of what came out on top.