Abstract
In the face of COVID-19, higher education in the United States was challenged to deliver virtual lectures and services in ways never imagined. The need to pay close attention to the psychological well-being of students became even more evident both in and out of the classroom. During the past two years, students experienced tremendous uncertainty and loss. Moreover, studies continue to show students who are first-generation, historically underrepresented, and from low-income backgrounds were most adversely affected. To expect students to return to campuses in the same way they entered in prior years would be unrealistic. This means educational leaders must lean into ways of creating spaces for students to feel seen, heard, and validated. Utilizing principles of servant-leadership and emotional intelligence, educational leaders can redefine their purpose to empathically serve their campus communities considering the effects of COVID-19 and the racial and social injustices the pandemic revealed.
TopIntroduction
Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredible healing message of, you are not alone. - Brené Brown
It is no secret that COVID-19 changed the world. From the vantage point of each person, the changes that resulted from the ongoing global pandemic led to predictable and unpredictable outcomes, from small to devastating, and reached local to global communities. Stephens et al. (2020) noted that the kind of uncertainty people are experiencing requires collective sensemaking from which they can respond to the changes brought about by the pandemic. They further stated, that even “uncomfortable realizations around privilege, positionality, race, and ethnicity” have been lodged to the foreground of our consciousness and warrant deep examination (p. 427). Most efforts to make sense of the current landscape across contexts and endeavors to bring about necessary changes rely on leaders that are genuinely empathic. As Weisz and Cikara (2021) asserted, empathy is the ability to share and understand another person’s internal state that requires sharing an experience, taking another’s perspective, and showing concern. Therefore, empathic leaders in higher education that listen, understand, communicate, and inspire action are well-positioned to navigate crises and address inequities as they intentionally meet the needs of their students. Employing the framework of servant-leadership, this chapter argues that leaders at institutions of higher education that want to make a difference in the lives of their students must put the needs of students first when determining their options and ultimately making their decisions. Further, the chapter establishes that empathic leadership can help educators address the opportunity gaps and hardships the pandemic exacerbated for underrepresented students and students of color. After a review of the benefits of empathic leadership, the chapter concludes with practical recommendations for leaders in higher education to consider.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Intersectionality: The simultaneous interactions of identity categories such as race, class, and gender that shape the experiences of individuals in social systems.
Community Cultural Wealth Model: An asset-based model that recognizes the cultural capital that historically underserved communities bring to college campuses and empowers them to identify these as positive contributions.
Servant-Leadership: An approach to leading others through validation, development, and encouragement.
Emotional Intelligence: The ability to recognize, understand, and manage personal emotions while recognizing, understanding, and influencing the emotions of others.
Empathy: The ability to share and understand another person’s internal state that requires sharing an experience, taking a perspective, and showing concern.
Sympathy: A positive feeling that acknowledges another person’s feelings or unique experiences.
Vulnerability: The state of being emotionally exposed.