{"id":3729,"date":"2024-07-04T16:19:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T15:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/?p=3729"},"modified":"2025-07-01T12:50:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:50:43","slug":"influence-starts-with-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/blog\/influence-starts-with-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"Influence starts with empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A key takeout from\u00a0our\u00a0recent client event<\/a>\u00a0was that there is a shared ambition for Insights teams to become more influential within their organisations \u2013 to have a seat at the table and\u00a0be\u00a0strategic partners and leaders\u00a0to their stakeholders. But how to get there?\u00a0Influence\u00a0is key, so\u00a0engaging and understanding\u00a0your stakeholders is a crucial element of building these internal networks. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In this week\u2019s blog, Emma Davies shares\u00a0how Empathy Maps\u00a0can\u00a0achieve this\u00a0\u2013\u00a0along with a handy how-to guide and free download of the framework\u00a0we use in-house.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A couple of weeks ago, we ran a\u00a0fantastic event\u00a0with client-side insights professionals, discussing the future of the insights function. A topic that came up again and again was the subject of building what we think of as\u00a0Trusted Advisor<\/a>\u00a0relationships with stakeholders, to help elevate the impact of insights within business decision-making.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many approaches to enhance your Trusted Advisor credentials; empathy is a key one. It means the ability to see the world from others\u2019 point of view. It is the starting point for clear communication, and critical for building the trust that underpins your ability to influence stakeholders\u2019 decisions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empathy is a peculiar character strength \u2013 some people seem to naturally have it in bucket loads, others really struggle with it. But we can all be more consistent in how we apply it \u2013 especially in our (supposedly) non-emotional professional lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a tool we\u2019ve been using for many years which is great for flexing your empathy muscle: the Empathy Map. Empathy Maps were originally created to help build understanding and empathy for consumers or end users of a product\/service, but we like to use them to help understand our clients (and their end stakeholders) better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can download the template we use here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three main benefits to Empathy Mapping: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perspective<\/strong>. We are not you, you are not your stakeholder, your stakeholder is not the customer. The Empathy Map provides a useful framework to understand another\u2019s point of view <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationships<\/strong>. When people feel heard and understood it builds trust fast (especially if you can articulate something that is unsaid, or they haven\u2019t even realised themselves)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outcomes<\/strong>. If we truly understand where the other person is coming from \u2013 what they need, why they need it, and how best to deliver it \u2013 then what you\u2019re delivering will always be fit for purpose and add value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a><\/strong> to download our version of the Empathy Map and follow our quick \u2018how to\u2019 guide to using it: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 | Be clear on who you\u2019re trying to empathise with (an individual) and why you want to empathise with them. It might be that they\u2019re a new stakeholder, or you\u2019ve run a tricky project with them in the past and you want this one to run smoother for example (blue parts on the map) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 | Evaluate their situation from all angles \u2013 what are they seeing and hearing (the passive stuff), what are they saying and doing (the active stuff), what are they not saying and doing \u2013 that you\u2019d like them to (the missing stuff) and how does this all come together into how they think and feel about a specific situation? (purple parts on the map) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 | Combine this knowledge into an understanding of their pains (their frustrations, obstacles and coping mechanisms) and gains (what they want and need, their goals and view of success). Getting to this final part of the Empathy Map (the green parts on the map) helps unlock how to engage with them, and develop a deeper-level relationship <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many ways to become stronger Trusted Advisors across the insights ecosystem, and the Empathy Map is just one great example of a quick and simple tool \u2013 watch this space for more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you want to know more about the idea of the Trusted Advisor, Maister, Green and Galford\u2019s book<\/a> is the place to start.  <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A key takeout from\u00a0our\u00a0recent client event\u00a0was that there is a shared ambition for Insights teams to become more influential within their organisations \u2013 to have a seat at the table and\u00a0be\u00a0strategic partners and leaders\u00a0to their stakeholders. But how to get there?\u00a0Influence\u00a0is key, so\u00a0engaging and understanding\u00a0your stakeholders is a crucial element of building these internal networks. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[23,20,22,24,21,25],"class_list":["post-3729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-elevating-insights","tag-empathy","tag-growth","tag-infuence","tag-insights","tag-insights-teams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3729"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4714,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3729\/revisions\/4714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/incite.strat7.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}