Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare

Empathic Leadership (In person / Online)

  • Duration: Full-day or half-day sessions (or your chosen format)
  • Location: Your venue or online

Who is this course for?

This programme—the first and only course on empathic leadership for the healthcare sector—is tailored for leaders, managers and aspiring change-makers across the healthcare sector who want to deepen their capacity for empathic leadership. Whether you lead a team, a function, or an organisation, this course will help you lead in a way that combines clarity, connection and sustainable boundaries.

Overview

Empathic leadership in healthcare has been shown to improve patient and practitioner outcomes, while improving financial performance. Meanwhile, government reports show that lack of empathic leadership causes harm, increases burnout, and decreases patient satisfaction (and increases patient complaints). Drawing on the first model of empathic leadership created by the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare team, participants will develop their own heuristics for empathic leadership (such as “Listen first, speak last” and “Walk the shop floor”). Heuristics are teachable, memorable, and transformative guides. Across interactive workshops, and guided planning, leaders learn to navigate complex emotional dynamics without blurring boundaries or burning out.

Participants will:

  • Cultivate empathic verbal and nonverbal skills grounded in rigor
  • Use heuristics to simplify nuanced judgment in real time
  • Reflect on personal leadership challenges and commit to actionable empathy habits

By the end of the course, participants will:

  • Understand the theoretical foundations connecting empathy, leadership effectiveness, and organizational resilience
  • Develop heuristics suited to their setting that can be immediately applied and cascaded throughout their organisation
  • Be able to apply heuristics as practical decision aids in emotionally charged situations
  • Gain tools to lead with curiosity, integrity, and clear boundaries
  • Develop a personal empathy leadership plan to embed learning into daily practice
  • Increase confidence in handling conflict, feedback, and high-stakes relational dynamics

Feedback

Course satisfaction:

  • Participants’ average satisfaction with the course is 9 out of 10.
  • On average, participants rate the likelihood that the training will make their organisations more empathic as an 8 out of 10.
  • Participants rated their confidence in applying their learning from the training as an 8 out of 10.

Comments from previous course participants:

  • “I really enjoyed the training. It created a safe space to explore empathic leadership and to reflect as a team”
  • “[Following the training] I plan to use the heuristics developed today in every day practice and to share with my team”
  • “There are many small, easy changes that can be made individually that will make a big difference.”
  • “The course was a fantastic chance to step away from meetings and reflect on leadership.”
  • "The course was interactive, interesting, and engaging!”

Format

This course is workshop-based, featuring:

  • Facilitated small-group discussions
  • Interactive stories and case vignettes
  • Realistic role-plays and simulations
  • Heuristic tool-kits and decision aids
  • Reflection, peer coaching, and feedback cycles
  • Engaging exercises to consolidate learning

Preparation

No formal preparation is required; participants may be asked to reflect beforehand on challenging interpersonal leadership moments.

Assessment

There is no formal assessment. This is a professional development course. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Course bookings

To discuss booking a tailored training session for your team or organisation, and to find out course prices, please contact us on empathy@leicester.ac.uk.

Course team

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