Leading With Empathy: Fueling Employee Engagement, Performance and Retention
Webinar | Jun 11 | 2 p.m. Eastern
Track: Business: Operational Challenges
Speaker: John Southard
June 11, 2025
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Session Info
Although 84% of CEOs believe empathy drives better business outcomes, 60% of them admit to struggling with being empathetic. Leaders must learn how to close this gap, as research shows that empathy cultivates a more engaged, innovative and collaborative workforce. Author John Southard has created an empathetic leadership framework that teams can use to maximize their performance and leadership abilities.
In this presentation, John blends his business leadership experience with his military history PhD to share how lessons from a small group of U.S. Marines in Vietnam can help us build a more empathetic workplace. He has translated those lessons into a new empathetic leadership framework that corporate leaders can use to create a culture of trust, teamwork, and performance. The good news is that leaders at all levels can learn how to leverage empathy to build more productive teams that enjoy their work and the culture surrounding it. They just need to know how to be more empathetic.
Your Speaker
John Southard, a PhD in U.S. Military History, is a renowned author, speaker, and expert in empathetic leadership. He has translated his extensive research on empathy into actionable strategies for corporate America, helping leaders build more empathetic cultures and enhance both customer and employee experiences. John is passionate about empowering organizations to harness the transformative power of empathy, driving change within and beyond their walls.
In his book Defend and Befriend, John uncovers one of the most remarkable yet untold stories of empathy in history. He chronicles a small group of U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War who used empathy to foster trust in a highly challenging environment. Their actions unknowingly created a robust framework for building trust that businesses can apply today to connect with employees and customers. After over a decade of studying these Marines, John has successfully adapted their empathy playbook for the corporate world, resulting in impressive business outcomes.
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