Happy Friday!

On this day, December 23, 1888, Vincent van Gogh chopped off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Arles, France. The following January, he painted a self-portrait with a bandaged ear a week after leaving hospital. In the portrait, he wears a fur cap, which is a reminder of the cold working conditions he faced, as well as a way to secure his bandage. In May 1890, Van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, where he continued to be plagued by loneliness and despair. He allegedly shot himself on July 27, 1890 and died two days later at age 37. Today, Vincent Willem van Gogh is regarded as an artistic genius, and his masterpieces sell for record-breaking prices. One of his most famous paintings, The Starry Night (1889), sits in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, and has an estimated value of over $100 million. Many argue it is priceless.

While he was living, the art world failed to recognise van Gogh's brilliance and they suggested he find another vocation. He sold only one painting and died penniless. Van Gogh told us, “If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” An individual’s experience and background can impact how they react to situations and how issues affect them. More than ever, managers and leaders must learn to be aware of the unique challenges that their team members face. This becomes even more important during organisational change implementation. Change Leader Empathy and Employee Mental Strength.

“Change implementation concerns may impact employee mental strength. Change leaders should be cognisant of the wider implications and proceed with empathy”

Leading and implementing organisation change usually means making difficult decisions that will impact employee’s working lives, their families and potentially their livelihoods. Leading change with empathy is a very important change leadership trait. Empathy is the ability to share an employee’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that employee’s situation. The change leader’s ability to sense an employee’s emotions about their new workload, new skills, and behaviours and how the change is impacting them personally will make a big difference in how the employee embraces the change. Empathetic change leaders will have awareness and understanding of how the employee is feeling as they move through the change transition. This trait is extremely important as everyone reacts differently to change and when livelihoods are threatened some employees can become very anxious.

Have a fantastic holiday with the ones you love and care for, enjoy some fresh air, exercise, eat, drink and be happy.

Further Reading: Change Management Leadership: Leadership of Change Volume 4

Peter consults, speaks, and writes on the Leadership of Change^®. He advises CEOs on how to prepare and align their corporate leadership teams to successfully lead their organisation's change.

For further reading please visit our websites: https://www.a2b.consulting  https://www.peterfgallagher.com Amazon.com: Peter F Gallagher: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle

Leadership of Change® Body of Knowledge Volumes: Change Management Body of Knowledge (CMBoK) Books: Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, B, & C available on both Amazon and Google Play:

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 1 - Change Management Fables

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 2 - Change Management Pocket Guide

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 3 - Change Management Handbook

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 4 - Change Management Leadership

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 5 - Change Management Adoption

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 6 - Change Management Behaviour

~ Leadership of Change® Volume 7 - Change Management Sponsorship

~ Leadership of Change® Volume A - Change Management Gamification - Leadership

~ Leadership of Change® Volume B - Change Management Gamification - Adoption

Coming soon:

~ Leadership of Change® Volume C - Change Management Gamification - Behaviour

~ Leadership of Change® Volume D - Change Management Gamification - Sponsorship

~ Leadership of Change® Volume E - Change Management Gamification - Leadership Teams

By Peter F Gallagher

Keywords: Business Strategy, Change Management, Leadership