Empathy is underrated

In design thinking, we often say that innovation begins with empathy—but what does that really mean in practice?

Let me share a moment I’ll never forget:

I was facilitating a design sprint with a group of small business leaders, employers and HR professionals, exploring how to better recruit and retain newcomer talent. There was some commiserating about hiring challenges at first. Then, a few good ideas were shared.

But the real shift happened when two highly educated, recent immigrants to Canada stood up and shared their job-seeking journeys. Their stories were honest, emotional, and deeply human.

And suddenly, the energy in the room changed. What had been a somewhat tactical conversation transformed into something far more connected.

The ideas started flowing. More creative, more grounded in lived reality, and more compassionate. It was as if the group had unlocked a new level of perspective—and from that place, entirely new solutions emerged.

This is the power of empathy.

It’s not just a “nice to have” at the beginning of a process. It’s a critical catalyst for innovation.

📊 And there’s science to support that.

Studies in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes have found that when groups were asked to imagine the end user’s perspective, they generated more novel and higher-quality ideas.

Empathy, it turns out, literally rewires our creativity.

When we emotionally connect to the real people behind a problem, we shift from solving for them to co-creating with them.

That shift? It’s where meaningful, human-centered innovation truly begins.

✨ Want to bring more empathy and innovation into your team’s strategy or program design?
I’d love to have a conversation about how facilitation can support your team. Please visit my website to more about my approach and services.

Rachel at The Connection Lab 🧠♥️