Empathy is having a moment

In the face of climate change, rapidly advancing technologies, misinformation and polarization,  empathy has never been more important to democracy and the future of humanity.

Meanwhile, high-performance organizations that care about sustainability, EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion), and psychological safety are being expected to embrace empathic leadership. 

The good news: Humans are born to empathize, empathy has been a part of our successful evolution as a species, and extending empathy is good for us.

Drawing from neuroscience, leadership studies, and positive psychology, Anita Nowak, PhD explains why humanity’s survival depends on purposeful empathy. She also offers a blueprint to becoming a more empathic leader, having a happier, healthier and more meaningful life, and contributing to positive change in the world.

Empathic Leadership (1-hour keynote)

There’s been an enormous workplace shake-up and empathy is emerging as one of the most important leadership skills.

In this 1-hour keynote, Anita describes how empathic leadership can help tackle five of today’s most pressing workplace challenges, reviews a powerful six-step practice, and explains how becoming a more empathic leader improves health, happiness and performance.

In this talk, she will answer:

  1. What is empathy and why is it so important?
  2. What does empathy have to do with business success?
  3. How can we become more empathic leaders?
  4. How can we create more empathic organizational cultures?

Living & Leading with Purposeful Empathy (90-minute workshop)

In this 90-minute workshop, Anita unpacks her Purposeful Empathy framework. After participating, the audience will understand:

  • Why empathy is our most powerful and transformative emotion, second only to love
  • Why purposeful empathy can improve our mental health and relationships
  • The importance of practicing self-empathy
  • How to can become a more empathic leader (partner, parent, friend…)
  • Why cultures of empathy at work improve performance, innovation and other KPIs
  • How organizations can – and must – deploy empathy for social good
  • Why elevating our empathic consciousness can inspire profound purpose in our lives
“Anita's session was voted one of the best during our recent Wellness retreat and it was such a genuine and inspirational moment of connection. Her highly accessible style, great anecdotes and extreme sensitivity to the context of her audience made it an unforgettable experience.”
Leslie Quinton
Vice President, Communications at Ubisoft President, International Women’s Forum of Canada

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About Anita

Anita Nowak, PhD is an empathy expert, author, keynote & TEDx speaker, podcaster, award-winning educator, certified coach, and founder of Purposeful Empathy by Design, a boutique advisory firm that helps purpose-driven organizations create cultures of empathy and social impact.

Passionate about mentoring the next generation of changemakers, she teaches Leadership, Ethics in Management and Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation at McGill University in Montreal, where she was named Professor of the Year in 2014 and 2019.

For the past fifteen years, Anita has held various leadership roles in higher education at McGill University. She teaches Leadership, Ethics in Management and Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Desautels Faculty of Management. She was named Professor of the Year in 2014 and 2019 and recipient of the David Johnston Faculty & Staff Award in 2021.

She is the author of Purposeful Empathy: Tapping Our Hidden Superpower for Personal, Organizational, and Social Change (Broadleaf, 2023).

She also hosts a podcast & YouTube series by the same name (115+ episodes, 20K views), dedicated to amplifying the voices of people from around the globe who understand the world needs more empathy – and are doing something about it.