Stawnychko, Leda

Empathy, once widely regarded as a universal good and essential leadership strength, has increasingly become contested in politics, workplaces, and culture. This article traces the history of empathy from its aesthetic roots in the German term einfühlung to its role as a cornerstone of leadership, highlighting its benefits for innovation, collaboration, psychological safety, and human flourishing. At the same time, it examines the paradoxes and risks of empathy when practiced without ethical grounding, including compassion fatigue, manipulation, and politicization. Drawing on research and contemporary debates, the article argues that while empathy is under attack, it remains vital for rebuilding trust, bridging divides, and sustaining both leadership and community.

The manuscript is a published book review of Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better by Kim Scott, featured in The Department Chair (Spring 2025 issue). The review evaluates Scott’s framework for fostering respectful and inclusive workplace cultures and explores its relevance for academic leaders, particularly department chairs. While grounded in corporate examples, the book’s insights are shown to be highly transferable to postsecondary settings. The review highlights key concepts such as managing bias, promoting psychological safety, and leveraging emotional intelligence, offering academic readers practical tools for building healthier, more collaborative departments.

Welcome to our Teaching Tip video series. In this series, faculty share a quick insight or practice that has helped in their teaching. This week, we are excited to present a tip from Leda Stawnychko, an Assistant Professor in Strategy and Organizational Theory. Her tip is about fostering significant conversations and networks. This video was shared in the ADC News newsletter on April 3, 2024.

The SOTL in 60+ podcast series consisted of ten episodes recorded during the 2024 Symposium for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning November 7-9, 2024 in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The podcast series was sponsored by the Mokakiiks Centre for Scholarship of Teaching and hosted by Sally Haney of Mount Royal University. Session 3 of SOTL in 60+ podcast series. Description provided on LinkedIn: In Session 3, the Banff SoTL Symposium podcast series features academic leadership scholar Leda Stawnychko from Mount Royal University. She dropped by shortly after co-presenting with her student research team. If we had a camera, you would see an educator who absolutely lights up when speaking about her student team.

Segment from the Shane Hewitt The Night Shift radio program aired November 6, 2024. Host Shane Hewitt interviews Leda Stawnychko. Copyright all rights reserved by iHeart Radio and Bell Media.