I met Professor Kim Ki-Chan in Kuala Lumpur last year. He is a renowned scholar and advocate of humane entrepreneurship, a concept he developed based on his years of consulting experience with some of South Korea’s largest corporations. As a token of appreciation, I gave him a copy of my latest book, I’mPossible: Leading Change. In return, he shared with me his deep belief that empathy is at the heart of innovation and performance.
That conversation made me pause and reflect on my own leadership journey, from my early days as Dean, to serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Deputy Director General of Higher Education at the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), and later as Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK).
Looking back, I realised that what Professor Ki Chan shared wasn’t just theory, it reflected my own lived experience. Leadership is not merely about setting grand visions or developing impressive strategies. It is about people. More specifically, it is about empathy. Empathy is what unlocks empowerment. And when people are empowered, they begin to take ownership, to create, and to innovate.
What is the Core Idea?
Empathy in the workplace is not a soft, “nice-to-have” quality. It is a powerful tool that drives performance, strengthens team culture, and fuels innovation. Leaders who lead with empathy are not only more connected to their people, but they are also more effective in creating lasting results. Leadership, after all, is not about controlling people but about enabling them to thrive.
What is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand, feel, and respond to the emotions of others. It has three key dimensions:
• Cognitive empathy – the ability to rationally understand another person’s perspective or situation.
• Emotional empathy – the ability to emotionally connect with what another person is feeling.
• Behavioural empathy – the actions taken to consider others’ views, such as listening deeply and responding with care.
Why is Empathy Important in Business?
When employees feel that their leaders genuinely understand and care about them, something powerful happens:
• They become more connected to the company’s mission and vision.
• They are more open to taking calculated risks, knowing they are supported.
• They feel motivated and become more productive.
• With increased productivity, innovation follows.
• And with consistent innovation, business performance improves significantly.
Leadership is About Enablement
Peter Drucker once said, “The purpose of an organisation is to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.” I couldn’t agree more.
True leadership is about unlocking the potential within people. It is about aligning strengths and making weaknesses irrelevant. When leaders listen, empower, and trust their team, they create a space where people feel safe to express ideas and take initiative.
A great example is Microsoft. Under Steve Ballmer’s leadership, Microsoft’s stock price hovered around USD18. Under Satya Nadella, a leader known for his empathy and inclusive approach, the stock rose to over USD400. The difference wasn’t just strategy, it was culture and leadership style. Nadella focused on winning hearts, empowering employees, and enabling innovation from within.
We were able to push UUM as the best management university in Malaysia and one of the best in the region not only because of the grand vision of its leader, but the culture. Similarly, we were able to transform UMK from a bottom-ranked public university into the best entrepreneurship university in the country because we empathised, empowered, and enabled the people.
Empowerment leads to enablement, and enablement drives transformation.
Strategic Advice for Leaders
Many companies today still operate within rigid bureaucratic cultures. These environments may function, but they often stifle creativity and discourage innovation. If we want to build companies that are resilient, adaptive, and forward-thinking, we must shift toward a people-centred culture grounded in empathy.
• Recognise and remove barriers that block talent and ideas.
• Replace fear-based management with trust-based leadership.
• Create space for dialogue, feedback, and co-creation.
• Focus not just on strategy, but on culture, because culture is what truly moves people.
Final Thought
In the end, empathy is not just about being kind. It is about being effective. It is the bridge that connects leadership to performance, and it is the spark that turns potential into innovation.
So the question isn’t just “Can empathy lead to innovation?”
The real question is “Can we innovate without empathy?”
Note: Dr Azizi is a professor at the Malaysian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship and Business (MGSEB), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (https://mgseb.umk.edu.my). He can be contacted at [email protected]
