TOOLS
Empathy Walk
Overview
An Empathy Walk develops your capacity to “hold space” for someone who is very different from you and establish a relationship across a significant boundary. It is adapted from the work of MIT Professor Emeritus Ed Schein, who has shaped the field of organizational culture, learning, and leadership over the past 50 years.
Application
The Empathy Walk can be useful in preparing for a presencing process, as it allows participants to experience the perspective of someone different from them.
Principles
- Suspend judgment and engage in empathic listening. (Refer to the Listening Learning Module.)
- Step into the perspective of someone else and let go of established mental models and assumptions.
- Practice stillness to encourage spaciousness throughout the conversation.
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