Practicing empathy to adapt to others

- Adaptability isn't just about adjusting…to broad, external circumstances like geopolitics…or the moves of your competitors.…At the micro level, it's about being adaptable enough…to treat people as unique and to adjust your style and tone…to the person and situation at hand.…Here's how to gear your approach…to the individuals you manage and collaborate with,…rather than insisting that one size fits all.…First, at a basic level, an essential thing to understand…is whether your employee responds best to gentleness…or firmness in your approach to them.…

Early in my career, I learned this when I had an employee…who would become incredibly sad and distressed…when I offered her suggestions…about how to improve her work.…What I came to realize was that she was a perfectionist.…And when I offered feedback,…she took it as a sign of personal failure…and became almost despondent.…Of course, that's pretty extreme…and something she might want to work on.…But nonetheless, as her manager,…what I knew is the part I could control…