Introducing Empathetic Presence

In this episode of Empathetic Presence, host Lee Bonvissuto introduces the podcast's mission to amplify voices silenced by toxic cultures, anxiety, and overthinking. Lee discusses the necessity of empathetic leadership over traditional “executive presence”, advocating for a more human, connected workplace. The episode aims to equip listeners with tools to speak up, advocate for themselves and others, and create inclusive cultures. Lee emphasizes that empathy combined with expertise is our strength, encouraging a rejection of systemic pressures that stifle authentic communication. Listeners are invited to share their challenges and suggest empathetic leaders for future interviews.

Links:

• Want to experience Empathetic Presence in action? Join my free monthly practice lab and learn tools to express yourself in every setting. Register here.
• Learn about Lee’s work here. 

00:00 Introduction to Empathetic Presence

00:29 The Problem with Toxic Cultures

01:19 Rejecting Executive Presence

01:29 Embracing Empathy and Connection

02:15 The Need for Empathetic Leadership

03:05 Empathy as a Strength

03:16 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

0:05

Welcome to Empathetic Presence, a podcast to liberate our voices from silencing systems, from anxiety, overthinking, so that we can build cultures of confidence where all of our voices are heard. I'm your host, Lee Bonvissuto. I help empathetic leaders express our expertise fully and freely. And over the past 10 years, I've witnessed too many leaders be silenced Because toxic cultures silence and stifle all of our voices. In this moment we have to preserve our freedom of expression so that we are led by more empathetic leaders. I want to share tools to help you speak up even when you're afraid, and I want to ask that you share those tools with people who struggle speaking up so that we can activate all of our voices to speak up for ourselves and each other. I know that so many of us feel powerless in our voices. We've been critiqued or picked apart or made to believe that we have to work harder to be heard. And this is unfortunately true for far too many people, particularly those who are underrepresented at work. We don't need executive presence. We don't need more disconnected, dominant leadership. It doesn't work. What we need is more empathy, connection, and humanness at work because the one thing that AI can never replace is our empathy, our communication, how we collaborate and connect. Where executive presence just makes us overthink. It makes us splinter our attention as we worry how we're being perceived. Do I seem confident enough? And so we need to reject executive presence. We need to reject, overthinking, or changing ourselves to be someone we are not. We need to stop working so hard to be seen as an expert worrying if we have executive presence, which in itself makes it impossible to be present. The leadership we need in this moment is empathetic, present, and connected, so that we can create empathetic cultures that include all of us, because I believe that we all communicate with confidence when we're comfortable, if we communicate with confidence when we feel safe, but maybe not in rooms where we feel like there's something to prove. Maybe it just turns on when we're in rooms with senior leaders. If that's the case, then it's not our voice that needs to be fixed. It's situational, systemic and deeply societal. And this in a society where empathy has been weaponized, where we are overthinking or people pleasing or worried about how we're being perceived. But I want to convince you that empathy is your strength, and when you combine your expertise with your empathy. You are unstoppable. In each episode, I'm going to share tools to liberate our voices so that we can express ourselves in big moments, and I'll interview empathetic experts who are creating cultures where we can all be heard. So let me know what gets in the way of you speaking up. Or maybe you know, an empathetic expert who needs to be heard, I would love to interview them. Email me at Lee@presentvoices.com and share this podcast with someone whose voice we need to hear from. And remember, you don't have to find your voice. It's already yours. I just want you to remember how powerful your voice is.