The Empath

The Empath may not actually be psychic, but as the ultimate people person, this type of edleader wins the hearts and minds of communities by understanding what is in those hearts and minds on the very deepest of levels. The Empath is a firm believer in the power of the collective and has a way of keeping every stakeholder engaged, for the benefit of the entire school community.

Empaths are an interesting study in contrasts. They can connect with anyone, but they’re not especially extroverted. They analyze to the extreme, but they aren’t big on quantitative data. They inspire others, but they often do it indirectly and behind the scenes. The end result at the organizational level is a well-oiled, people-driven machine for which the Empath doesn’t necessarily get the credit he or she deserves.

Empaths excel at developing shared ownership for major initiatives and creating a consistent, branded experience throughout their schools or districts. Because they rarely overlook even the smallest stakeholder groups, they are much better at anticipating potential problems than some of their peers. Empaths will also have an easier time achieving sustained buy-in for their ideas, if only because they’ve already done the legwork to close loopholes and address concerns before anything new is rolled out.

Empaths may be among the quieter people in the room, but when they speak, their words carry the weight of Freud’s ego—a much-needed counterbalance to the id/super-ego motivators of their peers. Their ability to read the room and identify individual leverage points also makes them masters of the art of persuasion. In other lines of work, Empaths make for sneaky great salespeople. In edleadership, Empaths can nudge entire school communities forward without anybody realizing they’re being nudged at all.
 

What the kids see

The Empath is terrific at making every student feel understood and appreciated. Empaths know their students’ names, their struggles, and their potential. Their natural ability to assess and react works well with their (often dry) sense of humor, pulling smiles out of even the most stubborn kids and fostering a sense of welcoming and camaraderie in even the briefest interactions.
 

Potential pitfalls

Early in their careers, Empaths tend to learn just how impossible it is to please everyone all the time, but that won’t stop them from trying. If Empaths are not careful, the emphasis they place on collaboration and universal input can get in the way of organizational agility, making the planning stage seem interminable for even the simplest initiatives.

The Empath is most successful in the company of pragmatists—those who will facilitate the information-gathering phases and push their Empath leader to take action, even if it means breaking things into smaller, phased versions of the finished project. They can also amplify their message beyond what comes naturally by winning over the most visible, influential champions in their classrooms and/or campuses.

Learn about the other types: