Empathic Leadership: Lessons from Elite Sport

Empathic leadership has become popular across industries including the challenging domain of elite sport. This book draws on the author’s relevant research and experience and incorporates the words of leaders of teams to help to explain how empathy can help leaders to be successful in their work.

Seven aspects of empathy are described in detail, each illustrated with fascinating stories from male and female head coaches of teams competing at the highest levels of nine different team sports. The result is an authentic portrayal of what it takes to become an empathic leader. Exploring the philosophies and practices of empathic leadership, attention is paid to a range of important factors within leadership, including relationship management, building trust, and establishing a strong line of communication. This book also focuses on the importance of self-empathy as a starting point of empathic leadership, providing readers with the ways to understand their own emotions and deep thoughts, and how they impact their leadership approach. Through this model, the author demonstrates how applying empathy in both work and life will enhance wellbeing, bring people together, and make leaders more influential and popular.

This book will be of interest to coaches in sport, training organisations including national governing bodies, recruiters, leaders across all industries, and anyone interested in the role of empathy in professional relationships.

Peter Sear is a psychologist, writer, and consultant. He gained his PhD on, Understanding Empathic Leadership in Elite Sport, from Loughborough University London, UK. He also holds a Masters degree in Jung and Post-Jungian Studies, a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. He is a Member of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.