Want Empathy? CEOs Gotta Give It to Get It.
A recent study by Business Solver reports that 63% of CEOs admit they struggle to demonstrate empathy in their day-to-day lives. This revelation is as shocking as discovering water is wet. After all, when was the last time you heard about a CEO shedding tears over their employees’ struggles or standing in solidarity with consumers hit by inflation, layoffs, or sky-high healthcare costs? The empathy gap isn’t just a leadership flaw — it’s a business crisis. So it’s unsurprising that employees and customers have no more empathy or time for the CEO and his suite.
USA Today columnist Ingrid Jacques recently lamented the public’s lack of sympathy for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was tragically murdered. “The callous disregard for a human life is alarming to witness,” she wrote, as she decried the outrage directed toward Thompson instead of mourning his death. Yes, the loss of any life is tragic, and violence is never the answer. But Jacques’ pearl-clutching misses a bigger point: When corporate leaders show a callous disregard for the lives of the 99%, they shouldn’t expect a sympathy card when the tables turn.
For many, Brian Thompson wasn’t a victim of senseless violence; he was the face of an industry that profits off denying care to sick people. Like many of its peers, UnitedHealthcare has long been criticized for prioritizing shareholder profits over patients’ well-being. Employees, patients, and families left drowning in debt or dying from denied care see Thompson not as a fallen hero but as an avatar of a profoundly broken system. And therein lies the rub: empathy is a two-way street. You can’t get it if you don’t give it.
The Empathy Deficit
Let’s be clear: empathy isn’t just a “nice-to-have” soft skill for leaders — it’s a business imperative. Today’s employees and consumers are demanding more humanity from the brands they support and the leaders they work for. They’re tired of being treated as disposable cogs in the machine of corporate greed. CEOs who fail to embrace empathy risk losing public trust and alienating their most important stakeholders: their employees and customers.
Look at the headlines: The “quiet quitting” and “revenge quitting” movement isn’t about laziness; it’s about burnout and disillusionment. The ongoing strikes across industries — from Hollywood to healthcare — aren’t about greed; they’re about workers demanding basic respect, fair wages, and humane working conditions. Meanwhile, consumers are growing savvier, calling out corporations for performative activism, greenwashing, and abandoning equity and inclusion while voting with their wallets for brands that align with their values.
And yet, instead of recognizing this seismic shift, many CEOs remain woefully out of touch. Since 1978, CEO pay increased by 1200% compared to just a 15% bump in pay for the average employee. They sit in their corner offices, insulated from the realities of the people who make their empires run. They call their employees “family” but lay them off in droves while pocketing multimillion-dollar bonuses. They market themselves as champions of sustainability while lobbying against climate legislation. They tout diversity and inclusion initiatives but fold like lawn chairs as soon as some political hack says the programs are unfair. They demand employees go back to the office and disregard the real financial and personal reasons why this doesn’t work for them.
It’s no wonder the well of public empathy has run dry.
The Case for Inclusive Leadership
Here’s the thing: Empathy isn’t hard. It’s not some unattainable quality reserved for therapists and kindergarten teachers. Empathy is simply the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It starts with listening — really listening — to people’s concerns, validating their experiences, and taking meaningful action to address their needs.
This is where inclusive leadership comes in. Inclusive leaders understand that businesses don’t operate in a vacuum. They recognize that employees are humans with lives and struggles beyond the workplace. They acknowledge that consumers have values, not just wallets. And they act accordingly.
Inclusive leaders build cultures of respect and belonging where employees feel valued and heard. They align their companies’ actions with their stated values, earning the trust of customers and communities. They measure success not just in profit margins but in their positive impact on people’s lives. In short, they know that greed is not good.
A Warning to the C-Suite
CEOs, let me spell it out for you: The era of command-and-control leadership is over. The public is done tolerating your tone-deaf excuses and crocodile tears. If you want empathy, start showing some.
Don’t tell us it’s “hard to demonstrate empathy” while cashing eight-figure paychecks and leaving your employees to scrape by on poverty wages. Don’t preach about “putting customers first” while lobbying against legislation making healthcare, housing, or education more affordable. Don’t expect the public to mourn your downfall when you’ve built your empire on their suffering.
The writing is on the wall. According to Business Solver, even CEOs, a whopping 52%, admit to working in a toxic environment. Empathy isn’t just an expectation — it’s a requirement for survival—leaders who fail to adapt risk being remembered not as visionaries but as villains. So, CEOs, the choice is yours: Evolve or face the consequences. Your employees, customers, and the world have no more time for your callous disregard.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
