Can Empathy Drive Productivity and Profit?
Yes!
What if the greatest leadership superpower wasn’t authority or strategy—but empathy? On the this episode of A New Direction with Coach Jay Izso, my guest Dr. Melissa Robinson-Winemiller unpacks her book The Empathic Leader and explains how empathy, when connected to Emotional Intelligence (EQ), is transforming leadership in ways that boost profit, productivity, and innovation.

Too often, leaders feel pressured to prioritize numbers and outcomes over people. But Dr. Robinson-Winemiller makes the case that empathy isn’t a “soft skill” at all—it’s a strategic advantage rooted in EQ. We’ll dive into how empathic leadership helps uncover hidden strengths, fosters trust, and fuels creativity in teams. If you’ve ever wondered why some leaders inspire while others burn people out, the missing ingredient may be empathy.

This conversation isn’t about being “nice” or “agreeable.” It’s about results. Companies that embed empathy into their leadership culture—anchored in Emotional Intelligence—consistently outperform their competitors. Dr. Robinson-Winemiller will share why empathy is the leader’s most underutilized tool, and how developing this EQ muscle can transform organizations from the inside out.

Join Dr. Melissa and me for a powerful discussion that will challenge everything you thought you knew about leadership. Whether you’re leading a company, a team, or even your own personal growth, The Empathic Leader will open your eyes to why empathy changes everything. Watch live, interact in real time, or catch the replay on the A New Direction podcast—because the future of leadership starts with empathy.

Dr. Melissa Robison-Winemiller's book, "The Empathic Leader: How EQ via Empathy Transforms Leadership for Better Profit, Productivity, and Innovation" is a read for anyone who is in leadership, wants to be in leadership, or just needs to connect with greater ability with another person.


This book is not as Dr. Melissa says, "woo-woo".  This is a book filled with research that makes a clear case that leading with empathy may be the one emotional intelligence factor that may be missing from your business moving upward to the next level.

The fact is we probably have some idea of what empathy is, but more than likely we don't know what empathy is not.  She makes this very clear.  Then she shows us the most important factor and that is empathy is a skill that must be practiced on a daily basis and how we truly put it into action.  And that is the key.  It's not a feel good thing, it is an action that we all can take.

I found the book to be incredibly inspiring, and really challenged my mindset on what I thought I knew about empathy.  This book is now a took in my tool box of emotional intelligence of how I can use it and distinguish between simply building rapport and actually connecting with other on a level that changes the outcomes.

Get your copy of "The Empathic Leader" by clicking here!

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