Conference PaperPDF Available

Empathy in Leadership: How it Enhances Effectiveness

Authors:
  • Heartist Center

Abstract

Empathy enhances leadership effectiveness. In times of the pandemic and increased commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion, it is considered an essential ingredient of leadership. The importance of empathy in leadership is especially emphasized in global organizations operating in a cross-cultural and multicultural environment. This study aims to develop a multi-level conceptual framework of the impact of empathy on leadership effectiveness in the field of business management. For this purpose, a systematic literature review based on Web of Science and Scopus databases has been conducted. The content analysis method was used to analyze and synthesize qualitative data. The research results show that empathy enhances leadership effectiveness through its extensive effects on the level of leader, followers, and organization. It contributes to raising self-awareness, developing listening and mentoring skills, and enhancing the relationships of the leader as an individual. On the followers’ level, empathy in leadership is associated with improving well-being, empowering, and providing role models in developing emotional intelligence. It enhances organizational effectiveness by inspiring diversity and inclusion, increasing employee engagement and retention, and creating a culture of responsibility, care, and innovation. These findings have practical implications for leadership and organizational development specialists, human resources managers, and business leaders. The interdisciplinary nature of the topic calls for the collaboration of researchers from the fields of business economics, psychology, and neuroscience to advance future research on empathy in leadership.
80th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development and
10th International OFEL Conference "Diver sity, Equity and Inclusion: The Essence of Organisational Well-Being" Dubrovnik, 01-02 April, 2022
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EMPATHY IN LEADERSHIP: HOW IT ENHANCES EFFECTIVENESS
Sanja Zivkovic
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Croatia
szivkovic@net.efzg.hr
ABSTRACT
Empathy enhances leadership effectiveness. In times of the pandemic and increased
commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion, it is considered an essential ingredient of
leadership. The importance of empathy in leadership is especially emphasized in global
organizations operating in a cross-cultural and multicultural environment. This study aims to
develop a multi-level conceptual framework of the impact of empathy on leadership
effectiveness in the field of business management. For this purpose, a systematic literature
review based on Web of Science and Scopus databases has been conducted. The content
analysis method was used to analyze and synthesize qualitative data. The research results show
that empathy enhances leadership effectiveness through its extensive effects on the level of
leader, followers, and organization. It contributes to raising self-awareness, developing
listening and mentoring skills, and enhancing the relationships of the leader as an individual.
           -being,
empowering, and providing role models in developing emotional intelligence. It enhances
organizational effectiveness by inspiring diversity and inclusion, increasing employee
engagement and retention, and creating a culture of responsibility, care, and innovation. These
findings have practical implications for leadership and organizational development specialists,
human resources managers, and business leaders. The interdisciplinary nature of the topic
calls for the collaboration of researchers from the fields of business economics, psychology,
and neuroscience to advance future research on empathy in leadership.
Keywords: effectiveness, empathic leaders, empathy, leadership
1. INTRODUCTION
Empathy is an essential ingredient of leadership. In times of the pandemic, the ability of leaders
to express empathy has been valued more than ever (Holt, 2022). Cultivating empathic
leadership has proven to be an effective crisis response strategy (Van Bommel, 2021). A
growing commitment to building more diverse and inclusive organizations requires humanity,
which embraces a deep empathy for others (Seijts and Milani, 2021). Leaders who express
empathy can create a space where diverse groups feel accepted, supported, and able to
contribute fully (Moore et al., 2020). In global organizations operating in a cross-cultural and
multicultural environment, empathic behaviors are resulting in a better performance of leaders
(Sadri, Weber, and Gentry, 2011; Rahman and Castelli, 2013). It is therefore important to
understand how empathy can enhance leadership effectiveness. As an emotional intelligence
competency, empathy can be developed throughout life. Together with emotional self-control,
it is the basis for effective relationship management (Goleman, 2006, 2007; Goleman et al.,
2017). Extensive research of empathy as a concept began in the field of counseling and
psychotherapy (Book, 1988; Gladstein, 1977; Rogers, 1975). Rogers (1975: 3) revealed the
intersubjective nature of empathy by describing it as "a complex, demanding, strong yet subtle
and gentle way of being". Goleman et al. (2017) indicate that neuroscience and psychology
literature recognizes three aspects of empathy: cognitive empathy (the ability to understand

(the ability to feel what another person feels and be emotionally in tune with feelings of others);
and empathic concern or compassion (acting on an inclination to relieve the suffering of another
person).
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In the leadership literature, empathy has been emphasized as an important aspect of individual
and organizational effectiveness. Whilst empathy as a trait is mainly associated with positive
leadership outcomes, recent research warns that it might also trigger cognitive overload,
exhaustion, and bias (Koenig et al., 2020; Peak et al., 2016). Hence, leaders should set
boundaries and be aware that empathy should not only be given but also received (Bachmann
and Faundes, 2021). Leadership effectiveness can be enhanced by the expression of empathy.
     y to mobilize and influence followers toward achieving
organizational objectives (Cicero, Pierro, and Van Knippenberg, 2010; Vardiman et al., 2006).
           
behaviors, and satisfaction (Amagoh, 2009). Lower employee turnover and absenteeism are
also considered to be indicators of leadership effectiveness on the organizational level (Howell
and Costley, 2006, as cited in Jogulu and Wood, 2006). In the context of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the effectiveness criteria in organizational leadership
have been extended by the requirements for creating a positive social and environmental impact.
  ttitude toward followers,
society, and the environment, it affects leadership effectiveness. Several studies indicate a
positive relationship between empathy and leadership effectiveness (Goleman, 1998; Goleman
et al., 2017; Rahman and Castelli, 2013; Sadri et al., 2011; Watkins, Fehr and He, 2019).
Research shows that women leaders often have a more pronounced trait of empathy which
makes them more effective on the individual and organizational level (Appelbaum et al., 2013;
Girdauskiene and Eyvazzade, 2015; Sergent and Stajkovic, 2020). Empathy is also considered

as transformational leadership (Girdauskiene and Eyvazzade, 2015; Hensel and Visser, 2018),
servant leadership (Jit, Sharma and Kawatra, 2017; Linuesa-Langreo et al., 2016), charismatic
leadership (Choi, 2006), responsible leadership (Voegtlin et al., 2020), and sustainability
leadership (Amankwa, 2018; Hallin and Mantel, 2018). Due to the extensiveness of the impact
of empathy on leadership effectiveness, the field of business management could be advanced
by further research on this topic. In the leadership literature, there is a lack of systematic review
papers on the relationship between empathy and leadership effectiveness from a business
management perspective. Prior research on this topic was predominantly in the field of
medicine, nursing, and other health sciences. Furthermore, most of the existing literature has
examined the impact of empathy on th
on the level of the leader as an individual have not been emphasized. To address this gap, two
research questions (RQ) are raised, as follows. RQ1: What are the characteristics of research
on empathy and leadership effectiveness in fields relevant to business management? RQ2: What
is the impact of empathy on leadership effectiveness on the level of leader, followers, and
organization? This study aims to develop a multi-level conceptual framework of the impact of
empathy on leadership effectiveness in the field of business management.
2. METHODS
A systematic literature review was selected as a research approach for this study. Compared to
other methods of literature analysis, a systematic review is based on explicit criteria that
enhance the reliability of the findings and minimize bias (Satalkina and Steiner, 2020). This
approach can also be applied in the field of business management to collect and synthesize
research and enable openness among researchers to prevent the repetition of effort (Thorpe et
al., 2005). The research consisted of three steps: (1) systematic literature review protocol
definition and the article selection process using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method; (2) bibliometric analysis, and (3) qualitative
analysis and synthesis of the selected articles using the content analysis method.
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PRISMA method ensures the transparent and complete reporting of systematic reviews
(Liberati et al., 2009). Bibliometric analysis enables researchers to gain an overview, identify
knowledge gaps, and derive ideas for future research (Donthu et al., 2021), while content
analysis is used to interpret meaning from the content of text data (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005).
For the first step of this research, a systematic literature review research protocol was designed
(Table 1). The search was conducted on November 29, 2021. The peer-reviewed journal articles
and conference papers (hereinafter referred to as "articles") were browsed in digital databases
Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) and Scopus. Searched terms were "empathy" and
"leadership effectiveness" contained in the title, abstract, and/or keywords. The search was
restricted to a specific time period (2012 2021). In addition, due to the specifics of research
on empathy in medicine, nursing, and other health sciences, the search was limited to research
fields more relevant to business management.
Table 1: Systematic literature review research protocol
Protocol element
Translation into research
Digital databases
Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus.
Searched term
Empathy AND leadership effectiveness.
Search strategy
Publications in the period 2012-2021; search terms contained in
the title, abstract, and/or keywords.
Inclusion criteria
Findings on empathic AND/OR compassionate, caring,
considerate leaders AND leadership effectiveness; research
fields: Business & Economics, Psychology, Behavioral
Sciences, Education & Educational Research, Communication,
Sociology, Social Issues, Social Sciences - Other Topics,
Philosophy, Decision Sciences, Arts & Humanities; journal
articles and conference papers only; English language only.
Exclusion criteria
Journal articles and conference papers without full access and
not relevant for the research.


The initial search resulted in 62 articles found (34 in WoS and 28 in Scopus). After excluding
the duplicate articles, 46 articles remained. These articles were sought for retrieval, and 39 were
available in full text. After the screening of the full articles, 15 articles were excluded as not
relevant for the research (4 articles with no considerations of empathy; 5 articles in the field of
medicine and nursing; 4 articles focused on the effectiveness of learning programs; 2 articles
related to the sympathy of teachers and empathy in psychotherapy). The articles containing
findings related to "compassionate, considerate, or caring leaders" instead of "empathic leaders"
were assessed as eligible, due to the similarity of those terms. As a final result of the selection
process, 24 articles were included in the systematic literature review. The article selection
process using the PRISMA flow diagram is presented in Figure 1.
Figure following on the next page
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10th International OFEL Conference "Diver sity, Equity and Inclusion: The Essence of Organisational Well-Being" Dubrovnik, 01-02 April, 2022
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Figure 1: PRISMA flow diagram of the article selection process
Note: Flow diagram structure adapted from Page et al., 2021

In the second and third steps of this research, the selected articles were further analyzed based
on exported WoS and Scopus data and full text reading. MS Excel was used for coding. A
bibliometric analysis gave answers to RQ1, while the answers to RQ2 are based on the
qualitative outcomes from the detailed content analysis of the selected articles.
3. RESULTS
3.1. Characteristics of research on empathy and leadership effectiveness
A bibliometric analysis presented in this section responds to RQ1. Table 2 shows the
characteristics of the reviewed articles concerning article type, research methods, and
instruments.
Table following on the next page
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Table 2: Characteristics of the reviewed articles
Authors (year)
Article
Type
Research method
Research instrument
No. of
participants
Jian (2021)
J
Qualitative
Literature review
n/a
Lumpkin and Achen (2018)
J
Qualitative
Literature review
n/a
Voegtlin et al. (2020)
J
Quantitative
Survey
782
Perry, Cebulla and Andreas
(2021)
J
Qualitative
Literature review
n/a
Cranston and Kusanovich
(2013)
J
Qualitative
Survey (pre- and post-
workshop assessment),
nonparticipant
observations
14
Hensel and Visser (2018)
J
Quantitative
Survey (multi-rater
system)
66
Koenig et al. (2020)
J
Qualitative
Literature review
n/a
Girdauskiene and Eyvazzade
(2015)
C
Qualitative
Interviews
6
Wei, Bilimoria and Li (2017)
J
Qualitative
Interviews
42
Bertrand (2019)
J
Qualitative
Interviews
5
Miao, Humphrey and Qian
(2018)
J
Quantitative
Meta-analysis
n/a
Contu (2020)
C
Quantitative
Survey
n/a
Sergent and Stajkovic (2020)
J
Mixed
Publicly available data and
briefings
n/a
Librada-Flores et al. (2020)
J
Qualitative
Systematic literature
review
n/a
Wang, Zhang and Jia (2017)
J
Mixed
Survey, interviews
451
Nadler, Carswell and Minda
(2020)
J
Quantitative
Survey (pre- and post-
intervention assessment)
37
Karanian et al. (2013)
C
Qualitative
Tell/Make/Engage
experiment
16
Silliman, Edwards and
Johnson (2020)
J
Mixed
Survey (pre- and post-self-
assessment)
64
Sart (2016)
C
Quantitative
Survey (emotional
intelligence assessment
and metacognitive-based
intervention assessment)
189
Amankwa (2018)
C
Qualitative
Literature review
n/a
Young et al. (2017)
J
Mixed
Survey, video-based
online experiment
483
Jit, Sharma and Kawatra
(2017)
J
Qualitative
Interviews
15
Linuesa-Langreo et al. (2016)
J
Mixed
Survey, interviews
n/a
Appelbaum et al. (2013)
J
Qualitative
Literature review
n/a
Notes: n/a information not available or applicable; J journal article; C conference
paper

The analysis by article type indicated that the majority of the reviewed articles were published
as journal articles (79 percent), while only 21 percent are conference papers. In the reviewed
articles, the qualitative research method is predominantly used (13 articles or 54 percent). The
quantitative method was used in 6 articles or 25 percent, while 5 articles or 21 percent applied
mixed research methods.
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Of the 24 reviewed articles, 6 articles are literature reviews and only one is a systematic
literature review (related to empathy and compassion in community networks). As presented in
Table 2, there is a broad range of instruments that can be applied in empirical research on
empathy and leadership effectiveness (surveys with pre- and post- workshop or intervention
assessments, experiments, meta-analysis, interviews). The articles were additionally analyzed
by research fields (Figure 2). The results are aligned with the intention to limit the search of
articles in WoS and Scopus databases to research fields more relevant for developing a
conceptual framework in the field of business management.
Figure 2: Research fields of reviewed articles

3.2. The impact of empathy on leadership effectiveness
In this study, a deductive coding approach was selected in synthesizing the results of the
systematic literature review. The content analysis of the selected articles started with setting the
codes based on the RQ2. Levels of the impact of empathy were used as codes, which provided
the basis for the development of the proposed conceptual framework. The use of a pre-defined
set of codes provides a clear trail of evidence for the credibility of the study (Fereday and Muir-
Cochrane, 2006). As a result of the detailed content analysis, about 40 effects were initially
extracted from the reviewed articles and assigned to one of three levels of impact. The highest
number of effects is associated with the organizational level, which contributes to the relevance
of the findings from an organizational development point of view. After iterative reviews and
summarizing effects with similar meanings and/or impact, the three most relevant groups of
effects on the level of leader, followers, and organization were identified.
3.2.1. 
                
orientation toward the other and the organization, a leader also needs to question oneself in the
process of expressing empathy which leads to a heightened sense of awareness (Jian, 2021).
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Raised self-awareness of the leader results in improved facial, behavioral, and verbal expression
(Jian, 2021) which enhances interactions with various stakeholders. According to Bertrand
(2019), leaders more aware of their internal dialogues are also more effective. Furthermore,
empathy facilitates responsible leadership behavior and causes a more balanced approach to
leadership by caring for stakeholders at multiple levels of the organization (Voegtlin et al.,
2020). The enhanced ability to perceive and consider the needs of others (Miao et al., 2018;
Sergent and Stajkovic, 2020; Wei et al., 2017) contributes to the development of listening and
mentoring skills. These skills are related to the empathic concern of leaders resulting in
et al., 2017). Empathic listening
requires presence in the moment, observation of non-verbal messages, appreciation of the ideas,
opinions, and situations of others, asking questions to express interest, reflection, and response.
A leader who acts as a mentor provides support to the ones she or he is empathizing with also
in a form of advice and sharing personal experiences in resolving similar situations. Lastly, the
            
relationships within and outside the organization. Empathy in leadership contributes to better
communication which in turn improves relationships with others. Leaders who practice
empathic communication with various stakeholders evoke respect and trust (Girdauskiene and
Eyvazzade, 2015). In addition, the leadership competency to communicate a strong vision to
employees is related to both assertiveness and emotional empathy (Hensel and Visser, 2018).
           
relationships also through their ability to motivate, inspire, and stimulate interaction
(Appelbaum et al., 2013; Bertrand, 2019; Girdauskiene and Eyvazzade, 2015; Karanian et al.,
2013; Miao et al., 2018). Highly empathic leaders will gain greater stakeholder appreciation
due to their expression of compassion (Koenig et al., 2020), and have greater promotability
prospects based on the followers' evaluations (Young et al., 2017).
3.2.2. 
Empathic leadership practice results in enhanced effectiveness of followers. Expression of
empathy in leadership is more likely to lead to positive employee relevant outcomes, such as
performance, satisfaction, and well-being (Wei et al., 2017). A caring attitude of the leader is
essential in improving the mental and emotional well-being of the ones cared for (Jian, 2021).
Young et al. 
negative feedback is increasing the positive affective reactions of followers. By restoring
emotional balance and creating a positive work climate, empathic leaders improve the
 -being which leads to greater organizational commitment (Jit et al., 2017).
Moreover, empathic leaders empower followers through recognition and development. Jian
(2021) argues that the empathic leadership practice of recognizing the diverse abilities and
needs of others enhances the effectiveness of followers. Wei et al. (2017) consider empowering
and developing others as a mixed form of emotional and cognitive social competency related
to giving employees authority and freedom within certain boundaries, encouraging and valuing
employee participation, and providing training and mentoring to individuals and teams.
Linuesa-Langreo et al. (2016) distinguish two perspectives of the empowerment phenomenon:
psychological empowerment at the individual level defined as intrinsic task motivation that
increases employee involvement and commitment; and empowerment climate at the group level
aimed at decentralizing power and authority to make organizations more competitive and
responsive. As empowered followers experience an increase in intrinsic motivation and
satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, they perform with greater
effectiveness at the individual and organizational levels (Lumpkin and Achen, 2018). They are
also inspired to empower others. In addition, empathic leaders provide the followers with role
models in developing emotional intelligence.
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Role modeling can be considered essential in the development of emotionally intelligent
leaders. It includes clarifying values and leading by example through aligning actions with
shared values (Lumpkin and Achen, 2018). By observing and interacting with leaders who are
proficient in cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and empathic concern, followers are
improving their practices of relating. Through receiving feedback from empathic leaders,
followers can raise their self-awareness and enhance self-management competency. In
organizations with group-centered leaders who promote equality and inclusion, unlike in
leader-centered, hierarchy-focused organizations (Perry et al., 2021), followers can also
improve their social awareness which is based on empathy.
3.2.3. The impact of empathy on the organizational effectiveness
Existing scientific research indicates a positive relationship between empathy and leadership
effectiveness on the organizational level. Empathy is the foundation of leadership competency
to inspire diversity and inclusion. The leadership of global organizations is facing increasing
needs for promoting employee diversity and developing new inclusive business models. A
leader indicates empathic concern when valuing differences (Wei et al., 2017), thereby
contributing to creating an inclusive and diverse organization in terms of gender, ethnicity, race,
work and cultural norms, and management methods (Girdauskiene and Eyvazzade, 2015). The
ross-cultural communication
and adaptability (Miao, 2018). According to Jit et al. (2017), an empathic leader instills a sense
of cohesiveness and collaboration thereby increasing altruistic behavior among followers. This
behavior in turn improves the level of diversity and inclusion within the organization.
Additionally, the results of a study by Voegtlin et al. (2020) indicate that responsible leadership

the organization and society. Group-centered leadership produces better team outcomes than
top-down leadership (Perry et al., 2021). Ensuring that people feel valued improves team
dynamics (Karanian et al., 2013). As organizational performance is influenced by a leader's

positive effects on organizational effectiveness (Lumpkin and Achen, 2018). By increasing
employee engagement and retention, empathy in leadership can contribute to more effective
human resources management. Finally, empathy in leadership has an impact on the
organizational level through creating a culture of responsibility, care, and innovation. Jian
(2021) indicates the importance of developing empathy toward a common outside party or
collective other, such as competing groups or organizations. According to Koenig et al. (2020),
highly empathic leaders will recognize warning signs more quickly, have access to more crisis-
related information, and will be mor      
system in post-crisis times. This is especially relevant in the context of the current pandemic as
there is an increased need for responsibility and care on both the individual and organizational
levels. In addition to being responsible toward oneself, others and the organization, a leader
also needs to be responsible toward society and the environment. According to Amankwa
(2018), empathy is one of the attributes of sustainability competency in leadership, and the


of innovation, as perspective taking and empathizing with people inspires employees to
generate creative ideas, and develop more useful and innovative products and services
(Linuesa-Langreo et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2017). Based on the research results, a multi-level
conceptual framework of the impact of empathy on leadership effectiveness was developed
(Figure 3).
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Figure 3: Multi-level conceptual framework of the impact of empathy on leadership
effectiveness

4. DISCUSSION
This research revealed the complexity and extensiveness of the impact of empathy on leadership
effectiveness. To inspire the development and expression of empathy in leadership, it is
important to advance research and discuss this topic more in both the scientific and business
community. The emergence of more interdisciplinary conferences and projects could stimulate
collaboration and co-creation of researchers from business economics, psychology,
neuroscience, and other relevant fields. Furthermore, the systematic literature review indicated
that empathy in leadership enhances effectiveness through its effects on multiple levels. The
identified effects on the level of leader, followers, and organization could be considered
interrelated. For example, raising self-awareness on the level of a business leader as an
individual could lead to her or his enhanced competency of empowering followers through
recognition and development, which in turn increases employee engagement and retention at
the organizational level. This finding confirms the importance of empathy in leadership
assessment, selection, and development, as well as in overall organizational development. The
results of this study contribute to the existing leadership literature. While the majority of prior
research on the impact of empathy was in the field of medicine, nursing, and other health
sciences, this study examines the effects on leadership effectiveness from a business
management perspective. The identified effects of empathy on the organizational level are
consistent with the results of a recent study by Van Bommel (2021) with 889 employees,
indicating that empathic leadership is driving innovation, engagement, retention, and inclusion.
Compared to the results of other studies which provided conceptual frameworks related to
empathy and leadership effectiveness, this research offers a more integrative framework by
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encompassing multiple levels of impact and providing descriptions of the concrete effects on
the level of leader, followers, and organization. Previous studies were predominantly focused
on the impact of empathy in leadership on followers and/or organizations. Skinner and
Spurgeon (2005) focus on outcome measures on the level of followers in their model of
empathy in health leadership and conclude that followers who perceive their managers as
empathetic are willing to put in extra effort in their work. According to the reflective leadership
framework, the empathic listening practice of leaders causes improved motivation and
performance of followers (Castelli, 2016). In their model of empathy and leadership
effectiveness, Rahman and Castelli (2013) show that leadership effectiveness is enhanced
through certain behavioral characteristics, resulting in increased emotional control,
interpersonal trust, and innovation. In the framework of the motivational effects of charismatic

which improves group cohesiveness and organizational citizenship behavior. Deliu (2019)
embeds empathy in the corporate governance framework as it evokes trust and motivation of
employees, thus contributing to more effective corporate governance. This research offers
practical implications for various stakeholders, such as leadership and organizational
development specialists, human resources managers, and business leaders. Leadership
development specialists can use the developed conceptual framework and descriptions of the
effects in designing and implementing tailored programs aligned with the priorities of leaders,
teams, and the organization as a whole. This framework can enable a more balanced approach
to leadership development, as the findings of this study indicate that the effects of empathy in
leadership are interrelated. Thus, when designing and implementing empathy-oriented
leadership development programs it is important to collect feedback from both individuals and
teams, and to redesign programs accordingly. The extensiveness of the identified effects
requires diversity in the content and format of education, training, and mentoring. Individual
and group empathy development exercises should be focused on improving mindfulness, self-
reflection, listening skills, observation of non-verbal signs, and compassionate responding.
Having an empathic leader as a mentor or at least as a role model is key to developing empathy
in leadership. This conceptual framework is also relevant from an organizational development
perspective, as it can be used in diagnosing, intervening, and evaluating the impact of certain
behaviors on organizational culture and performance. Furthermore, human resources managers
can use the research results as a basis for including empathy as competency in job specifications
and personality tests in recruitment processes. This could be particularly relevant for job
positions where building and maintaining relationships is essential for effectiveness, such as
top management, sales representatives, and relationship managers. Finally, this research can
assist business leaders in better understanding the complex nature of empathy and the impact it
has on the level of leader, followers, and organization. Business leaders dedicated to developing
and expressing empathy can lead by example not only in their organizations but also in the
global markets. There are limitations to this research concerning the methodology. A relatively
small number of the reviewed articles could be considered insufficient to generalize
conclusions. The potential inclusion of seven articles unavailable in the full text could affect
the results of the systematic literature review presented in this study. The reliability of the
results may also be lower due to assigning the effects to one of the three levels of impact, as
some of these effects could be related to more than one level. For example, increasing employee

level; however, it is assigned to the organizational level as it is often used as an indicator in
human resources management and organizational development strategies. Hence, the developed
multi-level conceptual framework needs extensive empirical testing. To provide a deeper
understanding of the impact of empathy on leadership effectiveness, future research in the field
of business manag-assessment
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
it. Therefore, they may overestimate their level of empathy and this can make the relationship
between empathy and leadership effectiveness unclear. By conducting interviews and surveys
of both leaders and followers, the findings could be more reliable and could contribute to raising
awareness on development areas at multiple levels of the organization. Additionally, the results
of this study can be extended by exploring the relationship between empathy and leadership
effectiveness in different countries. This could be especially beneficial for the leadership of
global organizations operating in a cross-cultural and multicultural environment. The research
results could provide a basis for designing and implementing country-specific leadership
development programs, as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives. Lastly, future research
could be directed at exploring how empathy in leadership can contribute to creating a positive
impact on society and the environment. This topic could be researched in the context of
contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and improving the
           
sustainability leadership.
5. CONCLUSION
The findings of this research show that empathy enhances leadership effectiveness through its
extensive effects on the level of leader, followers, and organization. This study represents one
of the first systematic reviews focused on articles related to empathy and leadership
effectiveness from Web of Science and Scopus databases. It makes a significant contribution
to understanding the impact of empathy on leadership effectiveness from a business
management perspective. The research results extend the existing leadership literature by
providing an integrative, multi-level conceptual framework and descriptions of the concrete
effects of empathy in leadership. The finding that empathy in leadership also enhances the
effectiveness of the leader as an individual is of special importance, as it could motivate more
current and future leaders to improve their empathy competency. The interdisciplinary nature
of the topic calls for the collaboration of researchers from the fields of business economics,
psychology, and neuroscience to advance future research on empathy in leadership.
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... The empathetic dispositions of school principals can have a favorable impact on SAE, leading to enhanced performance [107]. Some studies suggest that school leaders who exhibit empathy tend to have more engaged and satisfied employees, which can lead to higher performance and productivity [38], [41], [108]- [110]. However, there may be a balance to strike, as overly empathetic leaders might struggle to make tough decisions when necessary. ...
... However, there may be a balance to strike, as overly empathetic leaders might struggle to make tough decisions when necessary. Research has shown that leaders who exhibit much higher levels of empathy seem to be more [38], [110]. Hence, empathy can be a valuable trait in SAE, particularly in leadership and public administration, but its impact on SAE may depend on various factors. ...
... School principals' sympathetic personalities can positively affect SAE and improve performance [107]. Empathic school administrators may have happier, more engaged staff members, which may boost output and performance [38], [41], [108]- [110]. The statement that empathy skills will not promote SAE directly is rejected. ...
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... Numerous studies have found that emotions, their understanding and expression, are important aspects in acting sustainable leadership (Holt, 2022;Humphrey, 2002). Emotional intelligence and empathy are indicated as fundamental characteristics of a leader, they are determining factors for effective leadership and are also very effective in managing any critical situations (Holt, 2022;Zivkovic, 2022). ...
... Several studies have highlighted the importance of sustainable leadership (Rehman et al., 2019), focusing on emotional factors that can influence and support a sustainable leadership style (Holt, 2022;Humphrey, 2002). Whereas studies indicate the importance for sustainable leaders of factors such as empathy (Elche et al., 2020;Holt, 2022;Zivkovic, 2022), other studies highlight how the presence of empathy can also lead to emotional exhaustion (König et al., 2020;Peak et al., 2016). Thus, recent studies have highlighted the importance of leaders' emotional regulation abilities (Khan et al., 2022;Madrid et al., 2018;Torrence & Connelly, 2019). ...
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... For example, empathy grounds prosocial behaviors, such as helping, caring, sharing, and defending another individual or group (Silke et al., 2018). Empathy can also be at the core of many interpersonal processes, such as cooperation, sociability, and social competence (Eisenberg and Miller, 1987), which apply not only to clinical (e.g., Decety, 2020;Vinson and Underman, 2020) or psychosocial levels (e.g., Davis, 2018;Liu and Shange, 2018) but also to organizational levels (e.g., Gentry et al., 2007;Zivkovic, 2022). ...
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