I am Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.

When building a profitable practice, one of the hidden tools in your toolkit is empathy. Empathy is an important piece of the social development pie. The person who can’t express empathy for others isn’t emotionally well rounded. When you don’t try to internalize another person’s emotional experience and respond with kindness, you can become selfish and self-centered. Those qualities could lead to fewer healthy business relationships, and even a lack of success in your practice. Empathy in business is sometimes difficult. You might have difficulty maintaining a good relationship with certain business associates. Showing empathy for those individuals can be tough. For so many reasons, though, being empathetic is a wonderful way to grow and scale your practice.

Here’s why:

Empathetic people show that they’re team players

You must have a degree of selflessness to be empathetic. When you display this quality, you show your business associates and clients that you’re willing to help. Empathy means not only understanding the emotions of another person, but also reaching out to help them. Business owners and managers love business partners who display this characteristic of excellent teamwork.

Customers want sympathy and action

A bad client experience requires action. It’s not enough to listen to your customer moan and groan about something that went wrong. You need to really try and understand where they’re coming from emotionally. Then you need to fix the problem. Keeping clients happy is important in so many areas of business. There aren’t too many careers that allow you to ignore an upset client. Your business associates and your clients appreciate when your appropriate, empathetic response solves a customer service problem.

Practicing empathy means you’re listening and paying attention

Some business owners keep their heads down and just do their jobs. They may be particularly good at managing their responsibilities. They might always do what’s expected of them and little else. If you want a consistent paycheck, job security, and not much more, that’s fine. If you’re a person that always strives to expand and grow, that attitude isn’t going to get the job done. You must pay attention to everything going on around you in your business relationships if you want to get ahead. You can spot opportunities to practice empathy and help others, and you also show your business associates and clients that you’re a good listener. Listening is a vital leadership skill. Empathetic people are great listeners. Listening to others and paying attention within your field of expertise are a couple of skills that can help you advance and exponentially grow your business.

Empathy in business is important. You’ll find that you have a better relationship with your business associates when you display empathy. You show the company owner or client you have skills necessary for helping the business succeed. You’ll also find that advancing in your business is much more likely when you display empathy with your business associates and clients.

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Part of being empathic means being supportive. Check out our blog post here to read about the habits of supportive people.

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I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/contractnegotiations to pick up the free guide to help you negotiate the contract of your dreams.

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Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Sign up for the free video series: How To Build A Profitable Practice in 90 Days or Less: http://www.sixtytosuccess.com