Podcast - Tough Love and Empathy

Tough Love in Leadership – Todd White on Why Empathy Without Resilience Fails

The Performance Quotient

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Is empathy enough to make you a better leader—or can it sometimes backfire?

In this episode of The Performance Quotient, host Will Lindstrom welcomes Todd White, executive coach and founder of ClearPeg, to explore why empathy in leadership often falls short and what it really takes to make it work.

Todd introduces “the empathy equation,” a framework that blends understanding, feeling, caring, and doing. Each element can build a connection or create unintended consequences if leaders overuse it. 

Real empathy requires balancing those elements with resilience, accountability, and trust.

Highlights Covered:

• The four components of empathy and their double-edged impact on leadership

• Why empathy without resilience creates dependency rather than growth

• How “squinting with your ears” helps leaders listen more effectively

• The role of trust, respect, care, and accountability in earning engagement

• Why some leaders inspire teams to follow them into a burning building while others struggle to gain even basic buy-in

Todd’s insights cut through the buzzwords and reveal why empathy alone isn’t enough—and how leaders can combine care with resilience to create clarity, direction, and lasting performance.