
Being Empathetic Is Not Always Helpful – Why the Greatest Strength Is Weakness - bbnet1
https://medium.com/better-marketing/being-helpful-is-not-always-helpful-4517da88255f
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proverbialbunny
Being the person that helps and supports people can bring people closer, but
only so close. I find when I want to socialize with people, I hide that side
of me, unless necessary (it comes out all too often), so that there is an
opportunity to get closer than just helping people with their problems. Being
overly empathetic makes it hard to gain close friends.

Empathy is often misunderstood. It's seen as feeling the emotions of others.
That's not wrong, but it doesn't hit the heart of the matter. Empathy is being
able to model other people. It's knowing what others know, figuring out how
and why they think they way that they do. It's a powerful ability. Without it
being a great leader is impossible. It's necessary to be both kind yet
encouraging improvement at the same time to manage and help people.

Beware of hubris syndrome. It takes empathy to grow, aid others, and become a
leader, but paradoxically when one gains power their mind starts to optimize
out ones empathy reducing it over time. What once got you into power stops
becoming necessary. By understanding this and how it works, one can keep
themselves from falling into that pattern. The world thanks you:
[https://www.strategy-business.com/article/How-Leaders-and-
Th...](https://www.strategy-business.com/article/How-Leaders-and-Their-Teams-
Can-Stop-Executive-Hubris?gko=64a22)

