Innovating Empathy

“I think empathy was on full display,” shared Navigating Leadership Now event host Dr. Zac Goldman, reflecting on the event sponsored by the Executive Education department for the College of Business. 

The second annual conference was hosted on May 17 at the Angel’s Envy Bourbon Club on the University of Louisville campus, with over 100 attendees learning from area business and educational leaders who focused on humanizing innovation. Featured presenters included Raymond Green, EdD, Kathy Gosser, PhD, Stephen Reily, Adria Johnson, Ryan Quinn, PhD, Robert Garrett, PhD, Danita Taylor, Karen Freberg, PhD, and DeVone Holt.

“Several [presenters] expressed either stories from their life or experiences that they’ve had and…it seemed like people could relate to that or connect to that in different ways. I thought that was a testament to empathy that the audience and the speakers demonstrated at a high level,” noted Goldman. Both personal and professional stories and experiences were shared at the event, some of which included cultivating intrapreneurship, identifying your invisible currency and type of leadership role, and leading from the inside out.

Goldman also recognized the high degree of engagement by the presenters and attendees on both an individual and collective level. “When that many people engage on a single subject and focus an allotted amount of time to learning and growing as a community, as a group, there’s a real power.”