Great leaders always pay great attention to the people that they are dealing with. Every interaction no matter how small or large requires full focus and attention. Leaders do not take things for granted, they realized that the only way to win is to never overestimate or underestimate either the situation or the people before you. Every interaction then is a kind of battle, where full attention must be given.

By concentrating fully on the other person, leaders are able to correctly assess what the other person needs. By identifying these needs, a  leader is able to figure out exactly what is needed in order to either win in a situation, or how to get others to do what they want. While leaders have a natural propensity to see situations in a martial sense, where tasks must be attacked and overcome, they must also realize that the best way to deal with any situation is to come up with a win-win scenario. In order to do this leaders must be able to create a cooperative environment instead of environments where ‘dog eat dog’ is the norm.

By being empathic about the needs of others, I leader is able to create trust. You cannot fake this kind of trust and it is only manifest when you are truly concerned with the needs of those around you. In this way the leader is able to create a band or a tribe of trusted followers that are willing to work harder and to put more on the line in order to accomplish what he or she desires.

A good  leader must be able to show the people below him that they are far more important than the project at hand. He must make it apparent to his followers that they are the driving force that can accomplish the required task, and that without them there is only failure. This kind of impassioned rhetoric cannot be made without a true understanding and belief that the team is important and invaluable. And this understanding is not possible without the leader’s ability to focus on his people and on their needs. I leader that is not able to focus on other people will not have the kind of understanding and flexibility that is required to create passion and cohesion in his followers.

In order to become more empathic as a leader, challenge yourself to pay more attention to the needs of others. Challenge yourself by asking yourself what the other person needs in every situation that you face. Always try to put yourself in the shoes of the other person, and try to imaginatively contemplate what the other person is feeling. I leader must be able to expand his or her consciousness, so that he or she can see things in a broad perspective, and in this way discover new insights that will allow them to succeed where others have failed.

By paying great attention to others, leaders show their compassion. While some would tell you that compassion from leader is a negative thing, the reality is that people will not follow leaders that do not show humanity. In the leader, compassion is seen as the great strength because it takes great strength and conscious ability to be able to realize the needs of everyone and everything when you are in a high position. Many believe that it is difficult for a leader to look down and around them as leadership is usually identified with an aggressive need to look forward and to push ahead. Any leader therefore that is able to find enough compassion to see and understand those around them, is seen as being far more capable than the average.

Being a leader means being empathic. It means taking the time to feel out what those around you need. It also means having the empathic ability to see into every situation and to be able to register exactly what is needed in order to win. This capability is rare and it is highly prized because leaders that are able to do this are able to create new possibilities and to get others to do things that they would not normally do. Learn to focus on the other and you too can become this kind of leader; the leader that is prized and is in high demand.