The Moral Imperative of Empathy Leadership

MY VIEW

At the conclusion of a graduate course last fall on data collection for education leaders, my students concluded that if your data sources don’t include empathy interviews of your most marginalized, troubled and unsuccessful students, your data teams are mining fool’s gold. And they meant it.

These students entered the doctoral program at California State University at Fullerton because they are empathetic people. They are committed to the school’s mission to deliver a leadership preparation focused on the tenets of just, equitable and inclusive education. This is leadership grounded in empathy, one of the emerging adjective leadership styles that has captured the hearts and minds of education leaders.

Empathy has long been a trait of effective leaders and most of those who choose education as a profession.