Chrissy Myers argues that empathy is hard to teach, so hire for it. Technical skills and financial knowledge can be trained. The key is building systems that keep empathy consistent while your team learns the expertise.
A lot of business owners struggle with that balance. I know at times I do, because they either become too emotionally involved or they become too transactional. How do you build systems and training that make empathy a consistent part of your client experience?
First and foremost, I hire for it. I think empathy is something that is very hard for people to learn. Completely agree. And I really want people who have life experience, who understand what our clients are going through and can truly get that emotional component. The financial piece, those skills, those are trainable, those are teachable skills.
