Empathy: The Key to Positive Leadership

Brace yourself — this is not your typical white paper. What comes to mind when I think about “thought leadership”? Oof. Well, I’m not an expert in data transformation, cybersecurity solutions, or emergency preparedness strategic communications — although I work with plenty of people at Teracore who are! I consider myself to be a person of many interests and experiences, so it’s hard to nail down one topic that speaks volumes for me and could resonate with others. I’ll save you from my BBQ recipes and aspirations to create the perfect homebrew and talk to you about…leading with empathy. I know, it likely wouldn’t make a TED talk when compared to a subject with concrete and empirical evidence behind it. But I’ll speak to what I have personally experienced and learned throughout my 15 years in the industry and hope something sticks with you.

I graduated with my Bachelor’s back in 2009 (hello, recession) with a degree in History. The most common questions I received when telling anyone about that milestone was “oh, are you going to become a professor?” or “are you going into law?” No and almost. Instead, I worked in the restaurant industry to go ahead and find an opportunity to work, not just earn money. I ended up having a regular who took an interest in my background and requested a copy of my resume for a possible opportunity with his current company
— enter Teracore. When I started with Teracore in 2010, I was so green the river in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day would be jealous; but they took a chance. I started on a contract performing grants management work, particularly with respect to the financial and programmatic requirements. Here I was, 23 and wondering why I was loving financial work when I detested any form of math in school. Regardless, I had a Project Manager who was strict, but kind and that’s where I began my journey into empathetic leadership. This PM, who I won’t call out by name, but she knows who she is, taught me that you can be firm in your requirements for how the project should be managed, but you always had to meet people where they were. Our team was a mix of senior and junior roles, but the structure of our team allowed for a lot of cross training and knowledge sharing.

I worked on that project for two years before I transferred over to a new project, still within the company. Here I had a new team, a new workflow, and a new PM, who would be instrumental in my evolution. During this period, I experienced some of the biggest personal challenges thus far and my PM talked me through a lot — these included talks over coffee, away from the office, where we could be open and honest about what both he and I saw as the future. For the four-ish years I was on this project, I worked alongside a PM who taught me that even with a large team, you can still show empathy and mentorship. He molded me into an empathetic leader by showing me that you can be the boss and command respect while treating your team members as more than a worker bee. This man is still with the company, and I am proud to say I’ve known and worked with him for over 10 years (and counting).

Fast forward, I bounced around to another project and eventually ended up at another job with a new organization. I was there for two years and when I received a call to come back to Teracore, I didn’t skip a beat. I was coming home! This time it would be in a leadership position of my own as a Deputy Project Manager for a scope I had previously performed — I couldn’t wait. Here was a chance to execute the skills I had learned over nine years and show a new team that leaders don’t have to be up on a pedestal, waving a wand like a stern orchestra conductor. I could be on the team while leading the team.

Here are the top three takeaways from my own experiences with empathetic leaders:

#1 – You can’t lead if you’re reluctant to understand each member of your team. Managing people is hard, and even harder when you have several personalities to navigate. But, as I mentioned earlier, meeting people where they are is key to being a thoughtful and empathetic leader. Asking questions that are personal, yet not intrusive, and most importantly, listening, will accomplish this. How will you know if they are more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated? Do they want to learn everything they can so they can grow their personal portfolio, or do they want to be the next up and coming CEO? What leads one does not always lead another — each horse’s path to water is going to be unique.

#2 – Expanding on #1, emotional intelligence. According to Mental Health America, “Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you. There are five key elements to EI: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.” 1 Know (and trust) yourself, know (AND TRUST) your team, lead by example, have a heart, and be approachable.

#3 – A good mix of seriousness and humor will take you places. I’ve always been a bit of a goofball, using humor to defuse situations that I think are tense or escalating. A meeting is getting testy because one person is dominating the conversation and unyielding to new opinions? Throw in a pun or a corny “dad joke.” Watch as the tension in the room dissipates. It not only shows some authenticity and purpose, but it also shows vulnerability. How much more relaxed do you feel when your boss can be silly and down-to-earth instead of doughty and cold?

All this I’ve learned through my tenure with Teracore. Our company is an SDVOSB, and as the daughter of a veteran, I couldn’t have imagined a better place to begin and grow in my career. Thanks to the Teracore leaders of the past and present, I’ve learned that to be a leader, you must demonstrate you can be a human too. Teracore values all its employees and hires those who will inspire and lead at the same time. We lead teams and manage projects — not the other way around.


1 “What Is Emotional Intelligence and How Does It Apply to the Workplace?” Mental Health America, mhanational.org/learning-hub/what-is-emotional-intelligence-and-how-does-it-apply-to-the-workplace. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.