#172: Can Too Much Empathy Hinder Decisive Leadership? Artwork

Coaching the Whole Educator

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Coaching the Whole Educator

#172: Can Too Much Empathy Hinder Decisive Leadership?

January 18, 2026 • Becca Silver • Season 4 • Episode 172

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Here’s a question I keep bumping into as a leader and a coach:
When does empathy help, and when does it quietly stall us out?

In the first episode of our three-part series on coaching and leadership, Chris and I dig into one of leadership’s most uncomfortable tensions. I’ll say it plainly: empathy matters. A lot. And… sometimes leaders have to make decisions with incomplete buy-in, imperfect timing, and information others don’t have yet.

Chris makes a strong case for empathy as the foundation, without it we miss what’s really going on for people. I push back from lived experience: if empathy runs the show unchecked, leaders can hesitate, over-process, and get stuck trying to keep everyone comfortable.

This episode kicks off an honest, practical exploration of leadership as a paradox: heart and backbone. And the judgment to know which one the moment is asking for.

🚨Don’t forget to register for the VATLL Power of Coaching Conference, February 3–4, 2026! 🚨