Validation - Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training

How Empathy Builds Trust at Work | Customer Journey: Oliver, Part 2 of 5

June 22, 2026

Oliver learns that empathy is a method for uncovering the fears, concerns, and risks that prevent organizations from moving forward. Customer Journey Series: Oliver This article is part of a customer journey series following “Oliver,” a CTO in a pharma company scaling up to begin commercialization for a new drug. Oliver was facing a growing team, fast growing IT expansion, and collaboration across a rapidly expanding organization. Each post explores a real coaching conversation or leadership challenge from that journey.…

Leadership Empathy: The Moment Your Team Stops Engaging (and Most Leaders Miss It)

When you’re being most efficient, you may be at your least empathetic. Most leaders don’t notice the exact moment their team starts to disengage. Because it doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in small moments: Usually, the leader doesn’t notice how they cut someone off or jumped to a solution. But the team member doesn’t forget how that moment felt—dismissed, ignored, railroaded, or bossed around. And from that point forward, people contribute a little less, speak up a little…