How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated?

by George Langelett

E-book edition now on sale for 99 cents until December 31st!

Winner: 2014 USA Best Book Award -- Business/Motivational
Winner: 2014 Reader's Favorite Book Awards -- Nonfiction Business/Finance (Gold)

Are you looking for a better way to connect with your employees and keep them motivated?

Every person in your organization desires to be understood and accepted. The purpose of this book is to teach you how to empathize with each of your employees, and create a better work environment. When work days become mundane, you will learn how to create a sense of connection with your employees. During stressful times, you can display empathy to calm and reassure each employee, so that they can think clearly and problem solve.

The purpose of empathy-based management is to create a work environment in which employees internalize your support and encouragement, and this sense of connection inspires their professional growth and development. The goal of empathy-based management is to develop managers and employees who are: (1) motivated and ethical, (2) competent, and (3) enjoyable coworkers.

How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? provides clear, specific techniques that teach you how to empathize and create an atmosphere where everyone working for you feels accepted and understood. Through empathy you will be able to create an environment that results in professional growth and internalized motivation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Leadership

230 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2014

About the author

George Langelett is a professor of management and economics at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. He teaches classes in management, small business management, human resource management, marketing research, and macroeconomics. He grew up in Thief River Falls MN, and attended the University of Northwestern in St. Paul MN where he earned his B.S. in marketing. In 2000 he graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Ph.D. in economics. His dissertation focused on human capital formation and economic growth. While in Lincoln, he met his wife, Lara, and has been happily married for 12 years. While initially interested in the economic benefits of human capital formation, over time Dr. Langelett became more interested in researching the causes and impediments to human motivation.

In his words: “As an economist, as well as professor of management, an enduring issue that needs to be better understood is: why are some people significantly more productive than other people? Ultimately, what can a manager do to motivate each employee, and help them reach their potential?” Being dissatisfied with orthodox textbook prescriptions, Dr. Langelett has devoted his research to finding answers that are compatible with findings from other fields, particularly neuroscience, and also the simple reality of “what actually works? And why?” Knowing that research is an ongoing endeavor, Dr. Langelett enjoys discussing human motivation with people in both academia and the business world.

Reviews

[Julie]

Regarding the topic of employee motivation, this is the best book I have read to date. The ability to connect emotionally with people and influence their behaviors is a critical skill that each of us needs to learn if we are to be successful in any leadership role, as well as our daily interactions with everyone around us. Many leadership books talk about the importance of empathy, but this book is unique; it actually teaches you how to become a more empathetic person. If you enjoyed reading either “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie or “Drive” by Daniel Pink, then you will appreciate the importance of connecting with people’s thoughts and feelings. The ability to see things from another person’s point of view and make them feel uniquely understood is a true gift; and after reading this book I am now better equipped to connect with people and influence their perspectives in a positive manner. Virtually every leadership book I have read teaches the same basic leadership skills, each with a small twist or one or two new ideas or insights. But this book was a pleasant surprise to read. It is a clearly written and timely guide that taught me something new; I knew that empathy was important skill that I needed to embody in order to become a successful leader, but no one had ever taught me how to actually become more empathetic until I read this book. This book appears to be marketed for leaders, but learning how to become more empathetic is a skill that everyone needs to learn in order to be successful in life. In the end, people skills are one of the most important ingredients to being successful at what ever we decide to do in life.

[Rob Slaven]

I received this book free for review but despite that kindness I give my candid thoughts below.

So firstly, what is this book exactly? In a nutshell, it's a semi-practical guide to achieving emotional connectedness with one's employees. It is evenly split between clinical concepts (What part of my brain becomes active when I'm stressed?) and practical advice (What do I do when my employee is angry with me?)

On the positive side, the author has a very important message to convey. Many times in today's working world we're focused so much on results-based management that we forget that the people we're squeezing for results are real people. Langelett's book reminds us that the people we manage are, first and foremost, people with real feelings that need to be taken into consideration. Further, the author conveys this idea in a readable and erudite manner and gives countless examples of how to be more empathetic in our day-to-day interactions. Lastly, the book is deeply technical enough that if you wanted a jumping off point to dig in to some hard neuroscience then this book would be a great place to start.

To the negative, the problems I perennially have with such books is that they encourage rehearsed behavior. For example, if your employee is a fan of sport and you're not, simply peruse the sports page so you have some common ground, the book suggests. As an employee, I would be incensed if I found that my boss "studied" so that they could conduct small talk with me. In the same breath, the book admonishes us to be "authentic" while we dish out our suggested words and phrases designed for various situations. In this same vein, the text at times seems to encourage an almost pandering level of behavior towards employees rather than one that is properly realistic and representative of the way real people interact.

In summary, this book has as its heart and motive some great ideas. However anyone who tries to use these recommendations verbatim will likely be revealed as a charlatan in short order. The concept of engaging emotionally with employees is a highly valid one but such connections cannot be woven entirely from whole cloth or eked from the insipid dredging of the sports page. Connections must be real and heartfelt or they become meaningless. No table of rehearsed responses can take the place of genuine empathy for others in the workplace.

[Joseph Santiago]

For leaders to be able to identify what qualities are recognized from people of different cultures they have to be able to know more than just the differences between each culture. The cultural competence of a strong leader comes from a degree of immersion in a variety of cultures while having the ability to pull all the things together that unify the cultures to empower the individuals with a shared common purpose. According to Morrell (2004) challenging tacit beliefs about role responsibilities, expectations, and circumstances relating to career success, allows the recognition of social cognitive frames that individuals operate through. Social scripts are the beliefs or frames as to how a situation is likely to be understood and unfold as. Morrell (2004) states that social scripts are cognitive structures that simplify common decisions as they are perceived as scenarios to be played out. The background of how social scripts have been used and defined by disciplines of sociology and psychology was useful and thoroughly explored. Using social scripting exercises through the prompting of career counseling or consulting services to help individuals succeed can help organizations recruit and retain individuals of diverse backgrounds. Langelett’s book offers suggestions, research informed advice, worksheets, and scenarios to work through utilizing an empathic leadership model.

By personalizing the intervention strategies suggested in Langelett’s book I believe an effective strategy could be used to assist a diverse population with their needs and grow an organization. In today’s global market it is impossible for one person to know everything that is necessary to make an organization become successful and stay at the top without bringing in other people. When you bring in other people it affects the culture and motivation of a team. The biggest potential benefit in bring people together from multiple cultures to form a cross-cultural team is the experience and perspectives that individuals bring with them (Earley, Erez 1997). At times mangers on international projects will find it difficult to motivate or communicate with some members of a cross-cultural team because the same behavior cues will not work with all the members of the team (Horii, Jin, & Levitt, 2004). Contrary to what managers expect, their efforts to motivate teamwork through offering team incentives often discourage the very behavior that they wish to support because of perceived inequities. Company rewards will be distributed to those on a continuum from the least to the best performers within the team (Merriman, 2009). When dealing with individuals on a cross-cultural team, what members deem as fair could be very different.

A leader can use the data of Langelett’s scripting interactions to train employees and help individuals improve their performance. This book will have a place in my professional library and I recommend it for students, mangers, and anyone who is leading people today. One of the first things I noticed about this book was the unusual sensual feel to the book cover. I actually gave it to other people to feel it and if this was intentional its genius. This subtle characteristic of the book has begun more conversations than I would have though and greatly enhanced the curiosity of those who came into contact with it. This book will dramatically influence the culture and success of an organization if the leaders use the information in Langelett’s book. I know it has influenced my thoughts for the better. This is a good read!
Thanks for reading my review.

Mr. Joe





Brown, D., Pryzwansky, W. B., & Schulte, A. C. (2006). Psychological consultation and collaboration: Introduction to theory and practice (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Earley, P., & Erez, M. (1997). New perspectives on international industrial organizational psychology. Sansome Street, San Francisco California: The New Lexington Press

Horii, T., Jin, Y., & Levitt, R. (2004). Modeling and Analyzing Cultural Influences on Project Team Performance. Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory, 10(4), 305-321. doi:10.1007/s10588-005-6283-1.

Hudson, V. (2007). The human touch. Industrial Engineer: IE, 39(9), 40-44. Retrieved from Computers & Applied Sciences Complete database.

Merriman, K. (2009). On the Folly of Rewarding Team Performance,While Hoping for Teamwork. Compensation & Benefits Review, 41(1), 61-66. doi:10.1177/0886368708329209.

Morrell, K. (2004). Enhancing effective careers thinking: scripts and Socrates. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32(4), 547-558. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

[Judy]

This is a well-written and authoritative book on improving rapport between managers and employees. I have a PhD in psychology and can attest that, unlike many how-to books, the psychology in this book is sound. (The author sometimes gets carried away in talking about parts of the brain, but readers can ignore those sections without really losing any benefit.)

The title is somewhat misleading in that the book focuses on improving empathy, rather than on motivation in general. Motivation includes many other components, such as rewarding successful behavior, setting task difficultly to be neither too high nor too low, and varying tasks to reduce boredom. None of these non-empathy aspects of motivation are covered in the book. Still, the description of the book ("The purpose of this book is to teach you how to empathize with each of your employees") makes it clear that the topic is empathy, not motivation in general, so I felt this limitation of topics was not a serious flaw.

The techniques in this book are very detailed, rather than the general platitudes found in many business books.

This book would be very helpful to anyone whose employees have low morale. It would also be a great book to give (anonymously!) to a boss who is a jerk.

[Eric]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. George Langelett's management theory book is a great mix of theory and practical advise. How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? is a comprehensive review of empathy-based management, which is "simply a management style in which you understand and honor the concerns of each of your stakeholders." Langelett merges theory, experience, and scientific research to flesh out why empathy is important and how it leads to more effective management in the workplace. He notes that the ultimate goal of any manager is to facilitate motivated, competent professionals who can creatively solve problems, and empathy is the path to that goal. How? Using empathy creates an emotionally secure work environment, gives employees hope, and helps people grow both personally and professionally.

A key component to the empathy-based management style is "intersubjectivity": when two people (in this case, manager and employee) share a similar emotional response to something that occurred. Langelett lays out the steps any manager can take to create intersubjectivity:

1. Comprehend your employee's experience - ask "what just happened"
2. Respond with empathy, understanding, and acceptance
3. Investigate the causes of the event - ask questions about why the problem occurred
4. Respond again with empathy, understanding, and acceptance
5. Co-creating new meaning to the incident and finding resolution - back-and-forth dialogue to help the employee understand the event better

The end of the book includes a review of motivation theories, a list of mentor characteristics, and then discussions of opposing management styles (like management by fear, management by shame, etc.). The book is comprehensive enough to give anyone insights into empathy-based management, yet is succinct and practical.

[Suzanne]

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for reviewing it.

With this book, George Langelett aims to introduce a new theory of motivation to the corporate world. The central idea of the book is that treating employees in an empathetic way will increase their motivation and lead to better performance. I am fairly knowledgeable about the psychology of motivation; I have read a lot of books on the subject, in addition to studying motivational management techniques in my MBA courses. Thus, I was very intrigued when I started the book, because Langelett seemed to have a fresh perspective on the subject that I had never seen before.

At the beginning, Langelett briefly attempts to persuade the reader of the benefits of empathy-based management, but almost the entire book is dedicated to describing various empathy-based management techniques. I was a bit disappointed by the thinness of his argument; although I do agree with it in theory, he presents very little actual evidence (some of his claims are "supported" only by Bible verses or other quotes of dubious relevance). Therefore, any readers who are skeptical about the value of empathy in a management setting are unlikely to find this book convincing or gain anything from reading it.

However, Langelett provides the reader with many helpful management tactics, worksheets, and other resources to support them in developing a more empathetic management style. Therefore, although this book is unlikely to convert dissenters to his point of view, I would recommend it for any managers who believe in the importance of empathy and would like to learn how to incorporate more empathy into their employee relations.

[Dana]

I won a copy of this book through Goodreads and found the content to be very well organized and relevant. Truthfully, I've always felt that employers could be a bit more kind and caring. This book validated that every employee, not just women, are searching for similar traits in their employers. From the very beginning of the book, I appreciated the author's tone and perspective. This wasn't another preachy self-help employment book with graphs and stupid stories that loosely advanced the theories. Instead, the author used scientific evidence and plain common sense to explain how being a sensitive employer who recognizes employee's issues can build trust, which fosters growth and productivity. Addressing everything from tone of voice, to verbal responses, the author helps bosses everywhere learn how to build interpersonal relationships with subordinates that result in happy and motivated employees. Of all the employment books I've read, I have to say this is the one thy should be mandatory reading for every employer.

[Carlos]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

I really enjoyed the book,it is easy to read and very well organized. I think the author explains empathy-based management in great detail and with many realistic examples. Specially, he covers possible pitfalls and problems to avoid that shows you how knowledgeable the author is on the topic. Moreover, the book is well referenced and the further reading list is superb and extensive.

The book does shows how to connect emotionally and truly understand employees and why it works. While the book is focused on management, which is good because that is the main objective of the book, the knowledge presented here is transferable to family/friends situations since the book does very well explaining how the brain responds to external events, when to make decisions, and how help someone else feel understood and be able to clearly think in possible solutions.

[Carole P. Roman]

Great book about working with people and helping achieve success. Author George Langelett has written a comprehensive book about bringing out the best of the workforce by using empathy. By identifying and understand an employees point of view, any employer can navigate them into a position of mutual success. He points out the even more important than financial gain, people want autotomy and to feel as though their work will actually make a difference. By listening and understanding where the employee is coming from, a boss can help them achieve a more satisfactory experience. Most importantly the role of employer is simply not to be the boss, but the leader to give gentle direction allowing productivity and ingenuity drive success. If work fills up most of our daily lives, shouldn't it be both enjoyable and fulfilling. With this book, a person's drive can be honed and directed to achieve greater satisfaction by both the employer and the employee.

[Brandi]

George Langelett's "How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated?" is an excellent guide on making a connection with employees and keeping them motivated through empathy-based management techniques. Empathy-based techniques can be employed to help create a workplace environment that fosters motivation, ethical thinking and behavior, and competence among workers.
Empathy is an excellent tool that is too often unused in industry and society at large. People (employees) perform better in environments where they feel valued and accepted. This book provides sound reasoning to demonstrate this and gives excellent advice and guidelines on bringing empathy-based management in the workplace.
I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and wish I had a copy when I had taken my undergraduate business classes. I will be keeping this copy for future reference.
This book was won from the Goodreads.com website.

[Charissa Wilkinson]

I received this book for a fair review.

Overview: Dr. Langelett wrote a book trying to explain why empathy is so important in the business world, as well as useful in the home and family (if you have the right frame of mind).

Likes: The very idea that a business man will encourage others to treat people like they have a say in their future is amazing. Add to that the fact that Dr. Langelett believes so much in his studies that he offers extra help for those managers who need it, and you get a great book.

Dislikes: It’s a hard book to work through. That’s the material however. There isn’t an easy way to learn this stuff.

Conclusion: Most empathy should be taught while you’re young. By the time you’re in business, it’s almost too late. My opinion, this book will help some, it’ll even work for day to day interactions within your family. You are the manager of you home after all.

[Raven Moonstone]

I found this book very different to others I had read as it was not so heavy reading and instead of stating about offering incentives or rewards it reads more on allowing you to connect with the hearts of each of your employees and create a work environment where they can be fully engaged, problem solve, and enjoy their work.” Langelett offers detailed guidance for applying empathetic techniques and uses this throughout the book.

This book would make a very good read for any business person. I received mine as a first read.

[Amber]

This book covers the empathy based approach to employee relations very well. It is a bit of a call out to business America to wake up and realize the value of each employee. And to realize that you gain employee production and heart by caring about them. I appreciated the neurological information because it breaks down this somewhat feel-good approach down into a means to address an actual set of human physical responses.
This book doesn't quite fit in with the format of the 400 level course I am developing, but it will be on the resource list for my students.

[Nada Loughead]

Won this book on Goodreads and appreciated the opportunity for feedback...I wholeheartedly agree that more managers need to learn to lead with empathy. The rub is that for most business advancement, a person needs to be ruthless in their ladder climbing. Ergo empathy isn't something that plays into that "move up and ahead" attitude. Although not the best leaders, they become the most noticed. So this book is the ideal but not the reality.

[Jason Harris]

Focuses on the physiological issues involved in management and gives a helpful outline of why and how to approach management from an empathy-based perspective. Worthwhile reading for anyone in management or in any other position where working with people (and the conflicts that result) is part of the job.

[Robert Grieco]

After reading this book, I recognize the fact I follow practically all the same principles of being a manager. What I did learn though (or realize) is that I can apply these same principles at home with my wife and children. Life is much better at home nowadays.
Thanks Mr. Langelett!

[Josee Philipp]

First of all, thank you to Goodreads and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I found this book interesting and useful, as it is very hard to keep employees motivated, including me.

[Marianne Lowe]

I received this book for free as part of goodreads first reads giveaway. O found this book to be well written. It had a great balance of research and practical application. It was thought provoking and encourages me to try to put it in to application in my work place.

[Robynn]

This book really challenged some of my preconceived notions. And I loved it! A great book for today's managers.

[Joanne]

"How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated?" by George Langelett is a truly valuable book that offers practical insights and effective strategies to inspire and maintain high levels of motivation within the workplace. As a manager, I found this book to be a game-changer in my approach to employee engagement and productivity.

First and foremost, Langelett's writing style is engaging and easy to follow. He breaks down complex concepts into digestible chapters, making it accessible for both seasoned professionals and those new to the field of management. The book is filled with real-life examples and relatable scenarios, allowing readers to connect with the content on a deeper level.

One of the standout aspects of this book is the author's emphasis on understanding the individual needs and aspirations of employees. Langelett provides a comprehensive framework for identifying and addressing motivational factors, ranging from intrinsic rewards to fostering a positive work culture. He emphasizes the importance of tailoring motivation strategies to fit different personality types, which I found incredibly insightful.

Another strength of this book is the practical nature of its advice. Langelett provides a wide array of strategies, techniques, and tools that can be readily implemented in any work environment. From setting clear goals and expectations to providing regular feedback and recognition, the book offers a holistic approach to employee motivation. The inclusion of actionable steps at the end of each chapter enables readers to immediately apply what they have learned, making the book highly practical and results-oriented.

Furthermore, I appreciated the author's inclusion of the latest research and trends in the field of employee motivation. Langelett incorporates findings from various studies and expert opinions, ensuring that the strategies presented in the book are up-to-date and relevant. This blend of theory and practicality further enhances the credibility and value of the content.

The only reason I did not give this book a perfect 5-star rating is that some sections could have benefited from more in-depth exploration. While the book covers a wide range of topics, a deeper dive into certain areas, such as managing remote teams or addressing burnout, would have been valuable. Nonetheless, the book provides a solid foundation for understanding and implementing effective motivation techniques.

In conclusion, "How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated?" is a must-read for managers and leaders seeking to create a positive and productive work environment. George Langelett's expertise and actionable advice make this book an invaluable resource. By implementing the strategies outlined in this book, I have witnessed a remarkable improvement in employee morale, engagement, and overall performance. I highly recommend it to anyone striving for a motivated and high-performing team.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes, but this did not influence my opinion or rating.

[Helen]

I won this in a goodreads giveaway. It read like a textbook.

[Jim Gallen]

When Prof. Langelett offered me a copy of “How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated?” I accepted with the thought that it had been a long time since my days in the John Cook School of Business of Saint Louis University and it would be interesting to see what was new in the filed of management theory. In this book I found things that were not even known during my student days.

The premise of this book is that, in the current American economy, empathy-based management is more effective than one based primarily on rewards and punishment. Empathy is defined by Prof. Langelett as: “the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.” The need for empathy is illustrated by Theodore Roosevelt’s comment that: “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” The thrust of this work is that workers are more by intangible satisfactions, such as recognition, respect, being valued and a feeling of making a contribution. In order to maximize employee value management must create an emotionally stable work environment, give each employee hope and to help each employee grow professionally and personally.

What is new about this book is the grounding of its theories in neuroscience that now identifies specific portions of the brain that control and react to the arousal of emotional states. Langelett’s conclusions are based, not only on observations, but an understanding of how the brain reacts to various stimuli. By explaining new scientific discoveries, management theories and examples of how to respond to particular issues that arise in the work place the author has provided a valuable guide on how to be a better supervisor.

“How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated?” is short, but profound. With the application of attention and thought it pays handsome dividends. Whether you are a supervisor or one who interacts with others, a group probably excluding only hermits, this book will force you reflect on how you interact with others and ponder ways to be more effective. Some readers will find affirmation for practices they already follow. Many will find shortfalls in their own lives and all will be challenged to test, evaluate and refine its prescriptions.

[Cariadne]

Many thanks to George Langelett and his publishers for making this book available at Goodreads and Netgalley. I appreciate the willingness for feedback and am providing this review honestly.

When I saw the title, I had hoped to learn something helpful about employee motivation. I was surprised and disappointed that the book was not so much about motivation, but on empathy management. When I discovered this, I thought, "Duh, that's a no-brainer." Nutshell: In order to improve our relationships with people, we need to develop rapport and establish empathy.

But perhaps I'm wrong that people managers wouldn't already come to this realization early in their career. Or perhaps times have changed since I went to college and learned this. Of which, I learned this in a variety of classes, including my Physical Education class!

In either case, it was clear to me that the author is an academic. Which means, it's not written conversationally. It was structured similarly to a student thesis. Any actions for a manager to take are not clearly standing out. Lots of quotes and summation, but nothing new. If you took psychology courses, his review of how the brain works is included, as well. But if you're a manager -- an individual taxed with time and needing to draw insights quickly and information on how to apply it -- is knowing what part of your brain does what important? or is understanding personalities or fight/flight responses or possible reactions important <-- all things that weren't drawn out but more helpful to empathetic management.

In reference to the title and in the spirit of not contributing anything deeply insightful in content or in drawing connections, he did reference many other writings, including those of Dan Pink and others who have written about motivation, etc.

If you're a reader of communications or business/management publications, this is all familiar stuff and better written elsewhere. In other books, I would get an "Aha!" on a well-phrased sentence or an interesting idea. I kept hoping for that light bulb to come on, but it didn't. Overall, his point could have been made in paragraphs and not dragged out into chapters.

[Andrew]

I wonder if I was the right person to review Dr. George Langelett's book, “How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? The Practice of Empathy-Based Management”. It has always been my experience, on both sides of the equation, that most employees will be willing to go to the wall for a management that remembers that each employee is an individual, with unique interests and motivations. AND conversely, they will try to find every shortcut to work around a dictatorial style manager.

Given my previous experiences and management style, much to most of what Dr. Langelett included in his book seemed self-evident to me. I WAS most interested in his theories on discipline, for lack of a better word, when expectations are not met. Dr. Langelett adresses THIS point by clearly stating that the first point is to make sure that those expectations are set and understood up front – one cannot succeed at a task when one does not understand it. Further, he distinguishes between “discipline” and “consequences”; the former is imposed from above after the fact, while the latter is understood at the beginning. To clarify this point with an example, picture the following two conversations: “OK, that's it!! It's 4:30 on Friday afternoon and you aren't finished yet. No one leaves until the final copy of the report is on my desk!” vs. “If you do not finish the report by Friday afternoon, you and your entire team will need to work into the evening and perhaps the weekend so that it can be presented on Monday morning.”

The Appendices of the book provide good counterpoints between, not so much “Good” and “Bad” managerial styles, but “Effective” and “Ineffective”.

The again, maybe I WAS a good choice to review this book

RATING: 4 stars.

DISCLOSURE: I was offered a free copy of this book in return for an honest and prompt review. I got the “honest” part down, but the “prompt”, not so much.

[Jennifer]

This is a management book that encourages the use of empathy in everyday business and with subordinate employees. Mr. Langelett provides ample background in how he developed his theory using neuroscience and then demonstrates it step-by-step and through examples. He encourages interacting with employees so that a relationship of trust is developed that encourages growth and development. But to talk of empathy and to teach empathy are different and Mr. Langelett’s goal is to do both so that his theory can actually be applied in everyday work environments. In order to make his theory operational, Mr. Langelett provides exercises to develop empathic speech and behaviors and he explains the differences between empathy and sympathy. He also goes into great detail about how work relationships should be cultivated and how various situations should be handled from discipline to the everyday interactions.

Overall I found this to be a very easy read for a book about management. The way of speaking that Mr. Langelett encourages is similar to that of mediation which also encourages the development of relationships. My husband is an HR manager and is very familiar with industrial psychology and after reading this book I have a more complete understanding to why he does and says some of the stuff he does at work. The key is to make yourself approachable and to relate to your employees and this book is a great way to encourage you as a manager or supervisor to continue to improve yourself to help benefit the company and your employees. Wonderfully written I enjoyed this book and his way of teaching through examples. I think that it would be highly beneficial to any supervisor/manager.

[Meaghan]

Disclaimer: I was contacted by the author and offered the book in return for an honest review.

This book makes so much sense in every way. With a background in Psychology and current experience in teaching this fits everything I know of managing people in general. Empathy is just a better way to interact with employees and others than being reactive or passive. This book has practical examples of how you can gain empathy and how you can react in situations. It also gives examples of how not to respond if you want to use empathy, it is all about making connections with other people. The one area of the book I didn't quite agree with was the part if your employee is a sports fan (for example) and you are not and you use highlights and other sources to seem more engaged in their interests. To me this is like lying to your employee and it would make more sense to just ask the employee about the game, or find another common interest you share rather than forcing an interest. When your employee finds out you do not actually share their interest it will likely lead to mistrust in you because essentially you have lied to them.

I really appreciated the opportunity to read and review this book.

[John Naylor]

I received this book directly from the author at his own expense.

It has taken me a while to read it and it is not a book I would recommend trying to finish in one sitting.

It is the first business management book I have read to review. I actually think there is some good advice for managers and employees in the book. It gives some realistic advice and scenarios in a clear way. I think it will help some people to bond in the workplace.

My problems with the book are the reason I have given it 2 stars.

First of all, nearly every example of an employee being emotional is done using an example of a woman being emotional. This got to be very grating by the end of the book and it made me feel that there is a degree of sexism to the entire book.

Secondary, Page 101 states that an autistic is incapable of learning empathy. This is not true and a stereotype this high functioning autistic thinks should be removed from society. Autistics can and do show empathy but not always in the same way as anyone else. For a book on empathic management the author seems to lack empathy at this point in the book.

[Gateacre]

Firstly, I won this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you to all authors and readers who support this excellent scheme.

Having been on quite a few staff management courses over the last year I was looking forward to reading this. This is quite the antidote to the performance framework type approach I've been looking at - which tries to score everything and reward appropriately. Rather it gets behind what really motivates staff relationships and performance - and in a practical manner, not some "feel good / trendy ' type way.

The style is quite dry and academic but after the first couple of chapters you are easily drawn in. A lot of it is common sense but its good to see it laid out clearly and concisely - I ended up marking quite a lot of the book for future reference.

I don't really adhere to the principle of using a single system for managing staff - preferring to take parts that suit me and my circumstances. I've taken some ideas from this; definitely worth a read through.

[Matthew]

This book s received as A Goodreads Give Away - there's the disclaimer.
As to the significance of this book and the ideas within, it is a reminder of the significance and value of respecting humanity within one's workforce... Sadly, that respect is waning in modern American work culture. As evidenced linguistically by the demise of Personnel departments and the rise of Human Resources, the objectification of people who fit into the automated factory (including the "factory models of education and other human endeavors), we seem to forget the need for human interaction. People don't leave their humanity behind when the clock in, and this book makes that argument well.
My fear for this book is that it is right and good and out of its time. The pendulum has swung away from this type of thinking and it may be a while before our society recognizes how sterile and unproductive we are without the types of interactions represented in this book.

[Jaka Sunarso]

This book provides valuable perspectives often omitted by the management professionals. It highlights the particular need of empathy instead of sympathy as a part of mentoring process and explains why the commonly practiced carrot and stick approach is not very effective through neuroscience mechanisms. Rather, an emotional security, hope as well as personal and professional growth should be emphasized. The authors provides illustration on how to practice intersubjectivity - seeing employee's point of view and everyday empathy-based management in a natural way. Practical concepts on how to pass your values to the employees and the differences between punishment and consequences are also discussed. The appendix of the book comes handy with brief glimpses on the evolution of empathy-based management, characteristics of a mentor and the results of managing by fear, managing by empathy and managing by shame.