9 min

027 Empathy Fail Forward

    • Entrepreneurship

EP27 The importance of having empathy Welcome to episode 27 of the Fail Forward podcast.
 
Do you have empathy for others?
 
I confess that I haven’t always been the most empathetic person. I may have thought I was, But in reality, it was my wife, Sarah, who really taught me about empathy.
 
I’d come home in a bad mood, venting about people at work I believed had let me down or done something I considered to be unbelievably stupid. 
I’d shout in the car when someone cut me up. 
I’d be offended when someone bumped into me in the street and didn’t apologise. 
 
The negative energy was high, there was a blame culture going on and my performance was “below the line” (blames, excuses and denial in case you’re wondering!). 
 
And when Sarah asked me, “have you looked at things from their perspective?” or, “do you know what’s going on for them?” it felt like Sarah was taking their side, which also made me cross. 
 
She was my wife, why wasn’t she supporting me?
 
In this episode I reflect on how I learned to have more empathy for people and to see other perspectives. I also share how approaching a problem with empathy and understanding resulted in an unintended huge business win. 
 
If you’re enjoying the Fail Forward podcasts, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn for all the latest on my mission to help business owners Fail Forward. 
 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/failforwardhenri
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/henri-ghijben-539132101/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@failforward12
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/henrighijben/

EP27 The importance of having empathy Welcome to episode 27 of the Fail Forward podcast.
 
Do you have empathy for others?
 
I confess that I haven’t always been the most empathetic person. I may have thought I was, But in reality, it was my wife, Sarah, who really taught me about empathy.
 
I’d come home in a bad mood, venting about people at work I believed had let me down or done something I considered to be unbelievably stupid. 
I’d shout in the car when someone cut me up. 
I’d be offended when someone bumped into me in the street and didn’t apologise. 
 
The negative energy was high, there was a blame culture going on and my performance was “below the line” (blames, excuses and denial in case you’re wondering!). 
 
And when Sarah asked me, “have you looked at things from their perspective?” or, “do you know what’s going on for them?” it felt like Sarah was taking their side, which also made me cross. 
 
She was my wife, why wasn’t she supporting me?
 
In this episode I reflect on how I learned to have more empathy for people and to see other perspectives. I also share how approaching a problem with empathy and understanding resulted in an unintended huge business win. 
 
If you’re enjoying the Fail Forward podcasts, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn for all the latest on my mission to help business owners Fail Forward. 
 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/failforwardhenri
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/henri-ghijben-539132101/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@failforward12
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/henrighijben/

9 min