When performing hospitality workshops, I often ask my audience “Can anyone argue with how you feel?” The answer is always a resounding NO. Of course you can’t argue with how someone feels, because that’s their personal emotion. You’ve never had anyone walk up to you and say “how do you feel?” and if you answer with “I feel great!” you never hear them respond “No, you don’t.”
I often teach my managers to tap into their empathy. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, see through their eyes and feel what they’re feeling. If your team member is feeling particularly good or bad about a situation, it’s incumbent upon leadership to understand why. At the end of the day, your legacy will be made up of how you make others feel. To quote Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made the feel.”
