Episode #346
Rebecca Dhrimaj: How to Lead Teams Through Change with Empathy
Most leaders are promoted because they’re excellent at strategy, operations, or delivering results. But very few are ever taught how to lead people or give feedback. And that’s where things fall apart. Rebecca Dhrimaj is on a mission to redefine what leadership looks like in the C-suite and beyond. As a Chief Empathy Officer of The Empathy Collective, Rebecca empowers leaders to coach teams and give honest feedback through change, one conversation at a time. Rebecca shares how she “stumbled into” her business model through lived experience and hard-earned insight. She walks us through a powerful case study of her work with a large customer excellence team, where leadership training directly mapped to measurable improvements in employee engagement and change readiness scores. This isn’t theory—it’s tangible impact. We also talk about why leaders often rise because of their technical and business acumen, but are rarely equipped with the skills to navigate human emotion. Rebecca explains why starting with a WHY of genuine care and understanding your team’s collective strengths can transform even the most disruptive change into momentum instead of burnout. To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title. Listen in for… Rebecca’s Three Phases of Change Readiness Model Creating more effective one-on-ones that include proactive career conversations Why you have to do the inner work as a leader to best lift your team and organization How to build honest two-way feedback with your team "You don't necessarily have to always be on the lookout for things, but if you're asking the right questions in your one-on-ones with your people, floodgates will open, and they will talk, and they will share." — Rebecca Dhrimaj Episode References: Rebecca's Action Learning Coaching Guide: https://bit.ly/4rG0LPm The Middle Matters: A Toolkit for Middle Managers by Jeff Sigal Article in Change Conversations newsletter referencing Meet Your Inner Team cards The Empathy Edge podcast: Rebecca Geshuri: When Good Moms Feel Bad and Why Supporting Them is a Leadership Imperative Jamie Greenwood: Why Empathy for Others Starts with Compassion for Yourself About Rebecca Dhrimaj, Chief Empathy Officer, The Empathy Collective: As Chief Empathy Officer, Rebecca’s mission is to redefine the role of the C-Suite by empowering leaders to coach people through change, one conversation at a time. After leading change management for an organizational restructuring, she noticed there was a lack of tools available to leaders dealing with the human side of change: the emotions, the fear, the resistance. She discovered that when leaders start with a WHY of caring and an intimate understanding of their team’s collective strengths, any change is possible. When she is not preparing teams for change, she laces up her running shoes and tunes into an audiobook. Fun fact: she has lived in the US, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France and always has a secret stash of Belgian chocolate. Connect with Rebecca: The Empathy Collective and Resilient Change Leader™ course: theempathycollective.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rebeccadhrimaj Podcast - Return on Empathy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/return-on-empathy/id1750060452 From Our Sponsor: Get$500 off with code EDGE500 at checkout: retreat.therisingmastermind.com Connect with Maria: Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader LinkedIn: Maria Ross Instagram: @redslicemaria Facebook: Red Slice Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/ Join Maria at The Rising Executive Women's Retreat, Nov. 4-7. Use code "Edge500" to get $500.00 off! Slots are going fast. https://retreat.therisingmastermind.com/
