Summer 2023 - 20

Yet too many teams don't recognize it. Maybe
that's because they only see the flip side of its
personality. Because while empathy is generally
considered a positive quality, there are potential
disadvantages associated with it, particularly if it
is not balanced with other qualities as well.
These are:
* Emotional Burnout - During this time
you are constantly feeling and experiencing
other people's emotions and it can be
exhausting which can lead to emotional
burnout and so empaths may also be more
prone to anxiety, depression, and stress.
* Bias - Empathy can also lead to biased
decision-making, particularly if it is not
balanced with reason and logic. If someone
feels too much empathy for a particular
individual or group, they may make decisions
that benefit that person or group at the
expense of others.
* Overidentification - Empathy can lead
to over-identification of someone else's
emotions, which can cause people to lose
sight of their own needs and feelings. This
can lead to a lack of self-care and an inability
to set boundaries.
* Manipulation - People who are skilled at
empathy can sometimes use it to manipulate
others. For example, a salesperson might
use their ability to empathize with a
potential customer to make a sale, even
if the product isn't in the customer's best
interests.
* Compassion Fatigue - When constantly
exposed to other people's pain and
suffering, empathy can lead to a state of
emotional exhaustion known as compassion
fatigue. This can cause people to become
desensitized to the suffering of others and
to withdraw emotionally.
20 | Tactical Training & Conditioning | Summer 2023
Then every important skill has to be handled
with care. And if we haven't learned anything
in these past few decades in sports, such
as knowing that it takes more than a grubby
middle-aged and overweight Irish hurling player
to give his unqualified medical diagnosis to a
blood-pouring head injury, then we`ll never
truly get to the bottom of what the unique
performance strengths of what empathy is
in maximizing team play.
Now I`m not saying that we need to sit back on
the field of play and admire the opposing team
while they do as they wish with the ball against
our team who have worked so hard to qualify
for that performance in the first place. Nor am I
saying we should be using all our energy on the
pitch to assess the needs of those that come out
of hard tackles on the other end of the field.
But if we stand in the shoes of our teammates
and see how their lives are going we can forge
unstoppable bonds as we see their perspective
as we all try to maximize team performance with
our unique strengths combined. n
Summer 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer 2023
