“Empathy is the key to reshaping the future of work” – Dr Indu Shahani

Dr. Indu Shahani, the President & Chancellor of ATLAS SkillTech university, recently delivered a powerful and thought-provoking session titled “Can You Hear the Whistle Blow?” to first-year students. The interactive session explored how technology, location and talent can be harnessed to reshape the future of work, emphasising the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in superior performance.

The five components of emotional intelligence are empathy, self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation and social skills.

Dr. Shahani outlined the five components of emotional intelligence, including empathy, self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and social skills. She highlighted the top five leadership soft skills – empathy, vulnerability, patience, generosity, and humility – and emphasised the importance of cultivating empathy in youth through various channels such as education technology, personal coaching, social media platforms, user experience design, community-based services, environmental sustainability, and diversity and inclusion.

The top 5 leadership soft skills are empathy, vulnerability, patience, generosity and humility.

Empathy, as Dr. Shahani explained, is the ability to understand and share the feelings and experiences of others. It involves putting oneself in someone else’s shoes and imagining what it would be like to be in their situation. This essential component of emotional intelligence is often considered a crucial aspect of effective communication, conflict resolution and leadership.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings and experiences of another person.

Dr. Shahani gave several examples of empathy, such as listening attentively to someone, offering help or assistance, expressing genuine concern and compassion, acknowledging and validating someone’s emotions, being aware of your own biases and prejudices, treating others with kindness and respect, avoiding judgment and criticism and being willing to apologise.

The ability to demonstrate empathy can lead to increased understanding, compassion and positive relationships. In turn, these qualities can drive better communication, resolution of conflicts and leadership. Dr. Shahani also showed inspiring videos of leaders like Ratan Tata and Suresh Narayan, who have demonstrated extraordinary emotional intelligence, emphasising the crucial role of empathy in their success.

Technology, location and talent can be utilised to reconstruct the future of work.

In today’s rapidly evolving world, understanding the importance of emotional intelligence and the power of empathy is vital. Dr. Shahani’s session helped the first-year students at ATLAS SkillTech university gain a deeper understanding of these essential qualities and will undoubtedly help them succeed in their future endeavors.