Empathy, Schoolhouse, Marines: Oh My!
Empathetic Leadership Tip of the Week
Stop making assumptions about your employees and/or your customers. You think you know them well. I can almost guarantee you don't know them as well as you think. Just read this week’s story.
Empathetic Leadership in Action
In my keynote, I reveal what I believe to be the greatest yet most unknown story of empathy in world history — a story with powerful lessons that can transform the way small business owners build teams. Imagine building a team so loyal, they’d run through brick walls for your business. That’s the kind of loyalty this story can inspire.
During the Vietnam War, a group of 19-year-old U.S. Marines were stationed in a remote village, tasked with gathering intelligence on an elusive enemy. They arrived with deep-seated animosity toward the villagers, viewing them as no different from their adversaries. But over the course of a year, something remarkable happened. The marines began to empathize with the villagers, experiencing their daily struggles and hardships firsthand. What started as a mission of suspicion turned into a deep sense of care for these people.
One day, the villagers confided in the marines that what they really needed was a proper schoolhouse for their children. Wanting to help, the marines tapped into their military resources and, with great pride, gathered supplies from local bases to build the schoolhouse. For weeks, they poured their energy into constructing the building, certain that their hard work would be met with gratitude. But when they finally revealed the finished schoolhouse, the reaction was far from what they expected.
The villagers refused to use it.
The marines were stunned, disheartened, and confused. How could the people they had grown to care for reject the very thing they asked for? The relationship between the marines and villagers grew strained, and trust — carefully built over months — began to crumble.
That’s when the marines realized their mistake: they hadn’t included the villagers in the process. The villagers didn’t want a gift; they wanted ownership. They wanted to contribute. So, together, the marines and villagers worked side by side to rebuild the schoolhouse, this time as partners. Once completed, the school became a source of pride for the entire community, flourishing as a symbol of what can happen when empathy guides action.
This story isn’t just about building a schoolhouse — it’s about understanding what it truly means to lead with empathy. It’s a lesson for any leader: include your people, listen to their needs, and empower them to take part in the process. STOP ASSUMING YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED. That’s how you create teams that will go to the ends of the earth for your business.
This Week in History
On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam, during the American Civil War, took place near Sharpsburg, Maryland, marking the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. Union forces under General George McClellan clashed with Confederate troops led by General Robert E. Lee in a brutal, day-long engagement that resulted in nearly 23,000 casualties, including those killed, wounded, and missing. The battle was a tactical draw, as neither side could claim a decisive victory, but Lee's forces were ultimately forced to retreat back into Virginia, halting their first major invasion into the North.