Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says empathy isn’t a soft skill — it’s actually ‘the hardest skill we learn’::Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about the importance of empathy as a skill in the business world while accepting the Axel Springer Award in Berlin.

  • @mholiv@lemmy.world
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    1361 year ago

    I feel like he’s telling on himself. I think for most people having a sense of empathy is the default, and learning how and when (if ever) to ignore that feeling is the hard part.

    • @isles@lemmy.world
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      471 year ago

      You guys just don’t understand how hard it is to make yourself think of other humans as important. This takes practice and effort! I spend 10 minutes a day thinking of how other people might feel and it’s exhausting. Anyway, the spreadsheet numbers are smaller than they used to be, so I’ll just do a round of layoffs.

    • @vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org
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      171 year ago

      Empathy is not universal. You persuade yourself that somebody is miserable, annoying, weak, unpleasant, and you are not empathetic to them anymore.

      Well, at least I feel myself to be weird for not doing that and preventing myself from doing that.

    • @CalamityJoe@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      Not excusing it, but I’d say it’s very easy to feel disconnected from others when you’re in a privileged position of power.

      Everyone else becomes “them”, and you lose track of what “normal” or “average” experiences are like, because you tend to live within a very different space to others, and tend only associate with people with similar privilege levels.

      I remember visiting my country’s Parliament building, and within about 15 minutes having this weird sense of disconnection due to the incredibly different beautiful and privileged environment. Everywhere were massive pieces of art, beautiful marble inlays, everything was clean and well ordered, great big wide open spaces, beautifully carved wooden chairs in dining areas etc.

      I remember thinking no wonder politicians tend to be labelled disconnected and removed from the concerns of the average citizen. If I was working in that building 8-12 hours a day, 4-6 days a week, 40+ weeks a year, I’d find it hard to remain grounded and to also remind myself that what I was experiencing was something less than 5% of the population might experience, rather than being the “norm” or standard for the majority of the population.

      • @DeadlineX@lemm.ee
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        21 year ago

        It’s not even just privilege. Somebody disagrees with you? Somebody has different preferences to you? Somebody is different?

        Well they are the other and don’t deserve empathy because they are wrong and bad. We’ve all done it at some point. The real mark of an empathetic person is realizing and adapting to your biases and not sticking to your superiority complex when you realize it or it’s pointed out to you.

        It can be hard to be empathetic to people who are different. We all have built in bias. It’s how we treat people that disagree or are different where true colors shine through. Are you insulting and full of hatred? Or do you talk to them and try to get an understanding of their life and position?

        This is all my opinion, however.

  • @captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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    621 year ago

    Idk empathy came a lot more naturally to me than fucking technical writing and calc. It’s just giving a shit, you were supposed to learn it by kindergarten

      • @Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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        151 year ago

        Nah, successful sociopaths understand and perfectly emulate traits like empathy, often better than those who actually experience such traits.

        • @Jerkface@lemmy.world
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          91 year ago

          I have a family member who almost certainly has antisocial personality disorder and your assessment is dead on.

    • @realharo@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      A lot of people think they have empathy, but for many of them it’s very limited when it comes to other people who are not similar enough to the person themselves (or people close to them). E.g. people from a different background or socioeconomic class.

      Empathy often ends wherever a person’s perceived “tribe” ends.

    • @CordanWraith@aussie.zone
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      111 year ago

      I don’t say this to be edgy or confrontational, but it’s not like that for everyone. I am 26 and have no idea how to empathise with people, it’s not an innate thing for me and I have to put a lot of effort into learning it.

      Not really here to argue any point, just food for thought.

      • @captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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        41 year ago

        Fair, it’s one of those things that can be easy to forget when not reminded unfortunately. To me empathizing just happens when I see a face. I sometimes have to remember that people like you (and my girlfriend actually) have to do it on purpose. For people like me learning empathy is more learning to channel it in positive ways rather than remembering to think of others’ feelings.

      • @BURN@lemmy.world
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        31 year ago

        It’s not just you. I really struggle with it too. I’m terrible at maintaining friendships because of it.

    • @Dax87@forum.stellarcastle.net
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      41 year ago

      in my experience, ive had to remind a lot of my IT colleagues to have empathy, and quite often.

      also, what may be natural to you isnt necessairly easy for others.

  • @tacosanonymous@lemm.ee
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    341 year ago

    This person has trained themselves to suppress their empathy or perhaps they have empathy for this stockholders. They laid off a ton of people this year and more will be coming after their huge acquisition.

  • @MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
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    1 year ago

    But some are naturals in it. People with status/high positions often unlearn it. So i guess it’s rather the reverse.

    Btw: 2/3 of people in similiar positions like Satya have no empathy but are good in faking it.

      • TheMurphy
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        1 year ago

        Easier to pay one who just doesn’t have it. A shareholders dream.

    • @Seasm0ke@lemmy.world
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      21 year ago

      This year, Microsoft announced they wanted to cut 10,000 jobs. They are in the middle of linked in layoffs right now.

      Its pretty telling how difficult it was for him to develop empathy for his son’s health struggles instead of bemoaning his lost plans. I wonder how difficult he’d find learning the concept of personal accountability

  • LaughingM0n
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    191 year ago

    2023, took away annual inflation raise for the entire company during one of the worst years for inflation. Went to the board of directors and got himself a huge increase in his salary.

  • TJA!
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    1 year ago

    Axel Springer owns Business Insider, that’s why they are reporting it.

    In Germany Axel Springer also owns Bild, which is very similar to Fox news. And it owns Welt, which is Bild in a business suit.