FIR #370: War, Managers, and Empathy

Most organizations have remained silent about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Leaders don’t see how any reference to the war is relevant to their companies’ operations, purpose, or values, and they can’t imagine any statement would satisfy everyone. Yet most employees want to hear from their leaders about the situation. Research found that trust in leadership rises considerably when they do speak up. But what employees want to hear from leaders, particularly their immediate managers, is not which side leaders are on. Neville and Shel discuss employees’ expectations in this short midweek episode.

Links from this episode:

• Employee Confidence in Senior Leadership, Culture, and Engagement Soars When Leaders Communicate Effectively About the Middle East Conflict, New Research Finds
• How leaders can respond to the crisis in Israel and the Middle East
• Conference Board Report: As the Conflict Deepens, Communicators Remain Central to the Corporate Strategy
• How Should You Be Supporting Your Staff Amid the Escalating Conflict in the Middle East?

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The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, December 25.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

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