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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Illinois Leadership Competencies: Personal/Self: Empathy

An effective leader nurtures and improves their own self-esteem, goals, relationships, and values through self analysis and self-growth. This LibGuide provides resources to support the development of the Personal/Self competency.

What is Empathy?

"Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own"

-Barbara Kingsolver

An empathetic leader values new experiences and people, and maintains a strong sense of personal values while being responsive to new ones. These resources offer dialogues to help build empathy, and offer strategies to harness your empathetic side in day to day living.