empathy

Leadership and the power of empathy…

Got empathy? Apparently, it's trending. And it’s not just for actors anymore.

It is an actor's job to bring empathy to the stage and screen.

We are required to show up with the skills, willingness, and capacity to walk around in another's shoes. Fully imagining how a character moves through the world and bringing that role to life is one of the coolest and most exhilarating things about being an actor. Bringing empathy into the room is the least we are expected to do.

I will go out on a limb here and suggest it is the least our leaders ought to be expected to do too. More empathy makes us better humans. At work. At home. In life.

Click on the link for video tip on bringing more empathy to the table:

Lead with curiosity to bring your team together…

Table work.

Table work happens long before the curtain call.

Audiences (clients and customers)never see the table work, but they can feel it...if everyone has done the work.

In the first few days of rehearsal with a new script, writers, actors, directors, designers, and staff come together for “table work.” It’s just that, sitting around a table before we get up on our feet. Each person brings their perspective, thoughts, ideas, and we begin to hash out the story we are going to tell. Together. The room practically vibrates with energy and anticipation. Table work is where the magic starts to happen.

As we continue to navigate change in the workplace, there are likely new people, new roles, or new leadership at the virtual table for those team meetings aka table work. Many colleagues and clients are carrying heaps of differing thoughts, feelings, and perspectives into a new environment. Lots of changes. Lots of opportunities for the magic to happen.

When you choose curiosity about another person’s point of view, you bring presence and empathy into the room and give permission for others to bring authenticity to the table. Curiosity, Presence, Authenticity, and Empathy build Connection. Connection builds teams. Connected teams are a magical formidable force in the business world.

What are you bringing to the table to create Connection?

Sparkle....it's not just for the red carpet...

At the end of a long day of rehearsal, a director once told an actor, “You need more sparkle. I’m sitting in the audience, and I’m not getting any, you know, sparkle.”

That was it. That was the note. Huh? How do you convey more sparkle? Well, directors don’t always tell an actor how to get there, it is the actor’s job to figure out how. 

How?  By pretending to sparkle?  What does that even look like?  Yikes. 

Nope.  By playing clear authentic actions. Actors are always doing something at every moment we are on stage. We choose and play specific actions with our words.  It is the purpose and emotion underneath those words that engage an audience.  It is the meaning and feeling of how the story is delivered that audiences remember.  

Poised interviewees, confident presenters, impassioned leaders, and memorable storytellers bring the qualities (aka sparkle) of presence, authenticity, empathy, clarity and engagement to all their interactions. But you can’t just paste on the sparkle. Those qualities are what clients, colleagues, and investors experience based on how you shape and share your story.  I can help you and your team DO presence, authenticity, empathy, clarity and engagement in your calls, meetings, and presentations.

But be warned…

This is NOT a series of pre-recorded professional development online learning modules where employees push “play” and go make a sandwich. 

This IS a view behind the curtain into the methods and techniques professional actors use every day to create an indelible and lasting connection.  These lessons are shared rehearsal style with real time feedback and translated into tangible tips, tools, and techniques for creating similar clarity, engagement, and contagious presence.


Reach out and I am happy to chat about the meaningful and impactful professional development I can bring to you and your team. In the meantime, go get your sparkle on.