Speaker 1: Translator 1 I don't have time to take care of my team. I complain to my supervisor. He answers. Then don't talk to them. That's not important. There's so much wrong with leadership today. I witness competition instead of leadership. I witness managers that do not enable their employees. I witness leaders that lack interest in the growth and success of others. Sooner or later, this is going to take its revenge. These leaders risk losing talents because their employees will one day apply for a job elsewhere. They will not give their very best at work. Why should they? We hear it over and over again. Employees are our most important company assets. But according to Gallup Institute, the number one reason for leaving an employer still is the direct supervisor. Leadership is in a crisis. Employees do not get the leadership they need and deserve. This is a big mistake because the individual success of an employee and the holistic success of a company are not mutually exclusive but go hand in hand. This is why it is time for empathetic leadership. Empathetic leadership is the mindset that enables employees to be their very best self. This is proven by a study by Microsoft Germany. Leading with empathy produces great results. Nearly two-thirds, meaning 65% of employees surveyed with empathetic leaders say they're satisfied with their job. And 83% of them feel seen and valued. And this number is twice as high as what non-empathetic leaders achieve with their employees. Leading with empathy also leads to greater efficiency. Here the numbers of empathetic leaders is 50% better than those of non-empathetic leaders. My father, Ndava Isaac Hara, was a tall, slender man who always wore a dark suit, a crisp white shirt, and a hat. He was not a leader in a conventional sense. He was a Nduna. This is how Zambians call the advisors to our chiefs. He taught me to be an empathetic leader. He was an empathetic leader to the chiefs he advised. One of our leaders, Chief Chanje, explained to me, it is the job of Nduna to inform and remind the sometimes very young chiefs about customs, history, and practices. Whereby, he supplies the chiefs with knowledge and experiences of past leadership. The Nduna enables the chief to make well-educated decisions and to navigate liabilities. My father would say, a great chief strives to make his chief the best chief he can possibly be. In doing so, he ensures that the tribe and its people live well. In my words, Nduna is an enabler, and that is exactly what an empathetic leader should be. Now, what does it take to be a great Nduna? A great Nduna needs a lot of intuition and empathy. A great Nduna also needs a humble mindset. A great Nduna accepts his chiefs no matter how inexperienced or strong-minded the chief is. The women and men that work as Ndunas support their chiefs to reach their goals. It is never about the Nduna, it's always about the chief. So now, ask yourself, how would it feel like to be led by a Nduna? How would it feel like if leadership was about you, the employee, and not the managers? How would it feel like if your manager took time, asked questions, and listened to you? And finally, how would it feel like if your manager developed your potential and made it count if he or she makes you feel seen? When I started to work, unfortunately, I didn't experience anything like that at all. I still remember how naïve I was. I thought, if I work hard enough, the rest will take care of itself. Unfortunately, there were only few managers and leaders that gave me the support and guidance I needed. I experienced managers who were distant and very often more concerned with their own careers. My potential didn't count. There were no Ndunas amongst the leaders I worked for. There was no empathetic leadership. My father treated me exactly the opposite when I was a child. I still remember I lived with him in Zambia until I was 10. Till the day I leave, he makes time for me every day. When I come home from school, he lets me sit next to his deck chair. He dims the news from the radio and takes a close look at my notebooks and doodles, praising me for how well I'm doing and the effort I show, asking me, how did you do it? Why did you do it like this? What was most interesting? Where do you need help? Now tell me, my child, what is next? I feel heard, seen, and valued. I bathe in his attention, and his question, what's next, encourages me to go on. Had I not learned from my father to always ask myself, what's next, I would have become frustrated with work and probably given up. But I kept going. So that's the second lesson I learned from my father. Be a doer and always ask, what's next? You need to know the goal of the people you lead. Now allow me to tell you how I work with empathetic leadership today, and listen to the story of Tim. Tim is an eager, young, and ambitious intern. Tim is a very self-confident young man. When he enters a room, everyone instantly notices him, although he's just slim-built and 165. Tim has been with us for three months, and when he reports back on the feedback he received from the colleagues, I'm not surprised about the results. They are exactly as I expected. Overall, Tim is being seen as a very good intern, proactive, helpful, and willing to learn. Where project support is concerned, the colleagues have nothing to complain about. But when it comes to communication, his ratings drop. Tim has been told, you should ask more questions. Don't act as if you know everything. You should listen better. You seem to be arrogant. I asked, how does this feedback make you feel? I asked him, terrible. I don't know what happened, but, he adds eagerly, but I will work on it. I will learn to take a step back. Maybe I can get a coach. Why do you want to change, I ask, to be better accepted? Before you take any action, think about it. When I look at you, I have the feeling your presence and engaged demeanor are a big part of your personality. They might make you who you are. Before you think of how you could change, please rethink. There are advantages of the way you are. Some people would love to be like you. They pay expensive coaches to train them, but you? You already have that gift, and that's great. And it would cost you a lot of energy and work to change. Don't try to become someone else. With my support, Tim managed to become more pleasant, and at the end, his colleagues were happy to welcome him as a colleague after his internship. I don't try to fix my employees into a mold. I rather find out how they can add to our company's success with the person they are and the talents and wishes they have. You too could be an enabler, and that's exactly what an empathetic leader should be. Learn to make use of empathy and compassion. Show it. You will be rewarded in so many ways. Leadership becomes easier when you lead your employees with the goals they themselves helped define. If you challenge their talents and not their weaknesses, if you ask yourself and them, what's next? If you too want to lead like Nduna, if you too want to lead with empathetic leadership, if you too want to lead by developing the talents of your employees, then it's up to you to ask yourself now, what's next? My name is Lunya Hara. I'm the daughter of Ndava Isaac Hara and Aida Sakala Hara. Thank you.