Episode 281: Offering Empathy in the Workplace with Liesel Mertes
What place does empathy have at work? That question is at the center of the next episode of the next episode of the Beyond the Business Suit podcast. Host, Kailei Carr is joined by Workplace Empathy Consultant, Liesel Mertes, for a powerful conversation on how leaders can bring more empathy into the workplace. Liesel takes the audience through how to deal with disruptive life events (both good and bad), and ways we can all feel seen and heard at work. By reflecting on her own personal journey through loss and grief while still having to “show up,” Liesel emphasizes just how critical empathy is, not only in our personal lives, but also our professional environments as well. By sharing her lived experiences, we can all take a note from Liesel's book and offer support when we can while respectably holding space for how others choose to express their unique grief experience. Even if you think you are an empathetic leader, you may see yourself with new eyes after this conversation!
ABOUT LIESEL MERTES:
Empathy is THE leadership skill of 2023. It is not just a touchy-feely personality trait; it is a skillset and organizational capacity that can be learned.
Liesel Mertes is a Workplace Empathy Consultant, helping keep employees engaged through all of the disruptive life events of 2023. She empowers her clients to identify what is getting in the way of unleashing empathy at work, equipping them with the tools necessary to build trust and maintain employee engagement. Let’s help people survive, stabilize, and thrive.
Her personal journey with loss: the death of a young daughter and the ongoing cardiac care of her son, powerfully informs her vocation. I believe that creating organizational cadences of care is essential to employee retention and satisfaction. She is a consultant, writer, speaker, and host of the Handle with Care podcast.
QUOTABLES:
“Grief isn’t a one-size fits all.”
“People want to feel seen and supported by their direct teams and managers.”
“Perfect is the enemy of progress.”
“We love people who fix problems.”
“Form matters in anything we want to do over time.”
THE FINAL FIVE:
- What are some of the things you do to recharge your energy? I love to paddle board. I don’t live on a lake but I often take my board to places around Minneapolis and I do hot yoga.
- If you could have lunch with 3 people, dead or alive, who would you pick? I haven’t visited my grandmother lately. She died when I was 18. The older I get, the more respect I have for her faith, capacity as an entrepreneur and the way she cared for those around her. I think I’d like to get to know Cleopatra. She was fascinating to me as a powerful woman in a particular time. And I would like to speak to historical and Biblical character Job. I’d like to reel his wife in there too
- Where is your favorite place to vacation? I’m going to say my aspirational place…I want to go to New Zealand because I think it has all the places all at once. One of my recent places is that I got to go to Istanbul for work. I would take people back in an instant. That was amazing!
- What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is Braveheart or Fiddler on the Roof. Fiddler on the Roof probably in this stage of life.
- We are weird in certain ways. What is something that makes you weird? So many things…but it’s in the eye of the beholder. My thumbs are shaped differently, one is square and one is round. I also really like International Affairs. I have a very granular knowledge but my son and I are constantly talking about The Economist. We’re a little intense with that.
How to stay connected to Liesel Mertes:
Website: LieselMertes.com
LinkedIn: Liesel Mindrebo Mertes
Twitter: @lieselmertes
Subscribe to the podcast: Handle with Care: Empathy at Work
You can watch the full video of this conversation here:
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