Debbie Bayntun-Lees ∙ Professor of Leadership & Organizational Development at Hult International Business School
Faculty Column ∙ January 7, 2026
Empathy isn’t optional – it’s the regenerative force that keeps leaders, teams, and organizations alive
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At a time when exhaustion has become the new normal, when people describe their workplaces as “running on empty,” and when trust in leadership continues to erode, the call for empathy is no longer a whisper – it’s a survival signal.
In leadership circles, empathy has often been discussed as a nice-to-have, a soft skill, an optional extra once the “real work” is done. Yet our latest research shows something different: empathy now defines what it means to be a better leader.
Across 350 participants worldwide, leaders and employees alike described empathy, listening, and emotional intelligence as central to trust, motivation, and performance. Empathy is no longer peripheral to leadership; it is the work itself.
And yet, one of the most striking findings in this study was not only that empathy was consistently desired, but that women leaders, far more than their male counterparts, described the need for better emotional regulation. They spoke about moderating their emotions, handling pressure more calmly, and avoiding being “too emotional.” Men, by contrast, more often focused on the need for delegation, strategy, and control.
But this gendered pattern tells a deeper story. It reflects an enduring cultural double bind: women are expected to feel deeply but never show it; men are permitted to show control but rarely to express feelings. Both internalize narrow emotional rules, and both are diminished by them.
The cost of emotional containment
For years, leadership development has privileged cognition over connection. We have taught leaders how to analyze, decide, and deliver, but rarely how to relate, regulate, and renew. As Arthur Brooks reminds us, empathy alone can overwhelm or bias judgment if it’s not paired with compassion – the capacity to act constructively in the face of suffering. The answer is not to suppress emotion; it is to learn to stay with it without being consumed.
Women in our research seemed to carry this tension most acutely. When asked what they’d be doing differently if they became a “better” leader, one participant said: “I’d handle conflicts more calmly and make decisions more thoughtfully.” Beneath that restraint sits the implicit message: leadership is calm, contained, controlled – not feeling too much. Their desire for “better emotional regulation” was often less about losing temper and more about managing the social consequences of showing feeling at all.
But empathy is not weakness. It is a source of intelligence. Emotional literacy enables leaders to read nuance, attune to context, and build psychological safety. These are qualities essential for trust and inclusion.
When leaders turn down their capacity for empathy to avoid fatigue, they risk creating emotional deserts – cultures where performance is prized over presence, and people disengage because they no longer feel seen.
Empathy fatigue is not caused by feeling too much, but by acting too little on what we feel.
Regenerative leadership in an age of emotional constraint
We know from our research and practice that empathy consistently emerges as the bridge – the force that connects perception with action. Empathy lets us see and feel another’s reality; compassion adds courage and clarity, translating awareness into meaningful change. Regenerative leadership takes this further: it does not just sustain energy; it restores it. It recognizes that both people and systems need renewal, not extraction.
Regenerative leadership begins where performative empathy ends. It is not about saying, “I understand how you feel,” but rather, “I will act in ways that honor your experience and protect your capacity to thrive.” It recognizes that every act of empathy – listening, coaching, trusting, forgiving – is also an act of regeneration, replenishing the human energy on which organizations depend.
Our recent research, The Better Leaders Paradox, identified six critical leadership shifts – all of which are expressions of regenerative empathy. They each describe a movement away from depletion toward renewal, from extraction toward nourishment. Empathy sits at the core of every shift.
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Rewriting the emotional rules of leadership
The future of leadership depends not on eliminating emotion but on expanding our capacity to work with it. This means creating conditions where men can express care without fear of judgment, and where women can show emotion without penalty. It means reframing empathy not as indulgence but as intelligence, a strategic capability for navigating complexity and change.
Regenerative leaders do three things differently:
They regulate, not repress. They recognize emotions as data, not disruption. Emotional regulation becomes a form of presence, not performance.
They listen beyond words. They use empathy to uncover what remains unsaid — the hesitations, the energy, the emotional temperature of a room.
They act with compassionate integrity. They align feeling with doing — moving from awareness to accountability, from intention to action.
Empathy is not optional
In a world marked by exhaustion, division, and relentless change, empathy is the leadership capacity that prevents emotional erosion. It is the regenerative pulse that restores meaning to work, humanity to performance, and trust to leadership itself.
Regenerative leadership recognizes that empathy does not just heal individuals, it replenishes the ecosystems we inhabit: teams, organizations, and the wider world. When leaders choose empathy over detachment, compassion over convenience, and renewal over extraction, they model the very future they hope to create.
Empathy is not optional – because without it, leaders deplete the one resource they cannot replace: people’s willingness to care.
Can empathy be learned?
Empathy is not a fixed trait, it’s a practice. Leaders strengthen it through three habits:
1. Perspective - listening deeply and seeing through others’ eyes
Structured perspective-taking exercises, shadowing, and cross-cultural exposure widen understanding and interrupt bias.
2. Presence – noticing emotion without judgment
Mindfulness, reflective journaling, and narrative sharing all train the capacity to notice emotion – in oneself and in others – without judgment.
3. Compassion – acting with courage on what they feel
Compassion training, peer coaching, and mentoring transform feeling into purposeful action.
Empathy develops not in theory but in relationship, through feedback, reflection, and trust. When organizations treat empathy as a learnable discipline rather than a personality trait, they don’t just create kinder workplaces – they build regenerative ones.
Meet the expert
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Dr Debbie Bayntun-Lees
Professor of Leadership & Organizational Development at Hult International Business School
With extensive experience in leadership and organizational development, Debbie works with boards, senior teams, and HR practitioners to foster inclusive leadership, navigate cultural transformations, and build high-performing teams in complex environments.
A former Managing Director of Connecting for Change Ltd and senior leader in the UK NHS, Debbie’s research explores workplace dynamics, focusing on gender equity and inclusive dialogue. Her doctoral work uncovered how women are “socially silenced” in professional settings. Passionate about gender equity, Debbie designs innovative learning solutions to support leaders in creating inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive.
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