Anchored in Understanding: Navigating Empathy in Navy Leadership : Naval Postgraduate School , March , 2025
Anchored in Understanding: Navigating Empathy in Navy Leadership : Naval Postgraduate School , March , 2025
From the document: “Empathy is increasingly recognized as a critical leadership trait that enhances team cohesion, communication, and operational effectiveness. This study investigates how Navy personnel conceptualize and experience empathy in leadership and assesses its impact on organizational outcomes. It tests the hypothesis that officers emphasize long-term, strategic applications of empathy, while enlisted personnel focus on immediate, situational expressions of empathy. Through qualitative content analysis of participant interviews, seven key themes of empathetic leadership emerged, including understanding and emotional connection, action-oriented empathy, and empathy as a leader expectation. Findings suggest that empathetic leadership fosters trust, improves morale, and enhances mission success, while its absence contributes to disengagement and retention concerns. Additionally, quantitative analyses reveal variations in how empathy is expressed across ranks and career stages, supporting the hypothesis. This study informs leadership development initiatives and contributes to the creation of an Empathy Behavioral Checklist, a tool designed to provide actionable strategies for Navy leaders. Ultimately, these insights support ongoing efforts to integrate empathy into Navy leadership training and policy, fostering a more resilient and mission-ready force.”
Authors - Smith, Jasmin M.Related Resources
