Jamil Zaki

Cynicism—the belief that people are selfish and conniving—has been rising for decades and is an early frontrunner for mood of the 2020s. But when we don’t trust each other, we risk missing out on the things that matter: our health, relationships, and ability to innovate. Cynical thinking is especially dangerous when it creeps into the workplace; if it catches on, it can snuff out creativity and collaboration. If we want our teams to trust each other and share their most innovative ideas, we need to fight this invisible threat.

Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki can help. He’s a world leader in the science of human connection, and he’s tackling cynicism in a new way, as he laid out in a brilliant TED Talk that quickly earned over a million views: cynicism is a “trap” that we fall into. When we think cynically, we are more likely to compete, suspect, and alienate others, bringing out the worst in them and spreading cynicism even further. Jamil shows us how to stop this self-fulfilling prophecy so that we can see the best in each other again.

You’ll learn how to diagnose and stamp out the bugs in our thinking that cause cynical attitudes. You’ll be able to correct the common leadership behaviors that inadvertently spread cynicism across organizations, leading to burnout and turnover. Most of all, you’ll learn about “anti-cynicism,” a term that Jamil has coined for a set of practices that actively combat cynical thinking. Anti-cynical workplaces take intentional steps to promote cooperation and trust, and to create healthier, more successful cultures. When you leave Jamil’s talk, you’ll be ready to build an anti-cynical community of your own.

Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren’t like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. In 2006, Barack Obama said that the United States was suffering from an “empathy deficit.” Since then, things seem to have only gotten worse.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In his groundbreaking book The War For Kindness, Jamil Zaki shares cutting-edge research, including experiments from his own lab, showing that empathy is not a fixed trait—something we’re born with or not—but rather a skill that can be strengthened through effort. He also tells the stories of people who embody this new perspective, fighting for kindness in the most difficult of circumstances: a former neo-Nazi who is now helping to extract people from hate groups; ex-prisoners discussing novels with the judge who sentenced them; Washington police officers changing their culture to decrease violence among their ranks; and NICU nurses fine-tuning their empathy so that they don’t succumb to burnout.

With clarity and passion, Zaki offers us an inspiring call to action. The future may depend on whether we accept the challenge.

Empathy—the ability to share, understand, and care about others’ experiences—is a key to thriving workplaces, promoting well-being, collaboration, loyalty, and innovation. And it’s a vital element for any successful diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. But it doesn’t always flow through companies the way it should. Empathic people often rise to positions of leadership and influence, but achieving those goals can ironically make it harder for them to connect. Psychologists call this the “power paradox,” and it can get in the way of building an inclusive organization.

The good news is that empathy is a skill, which anyone can strengthen and learn. In this talk, Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki shares insights from the behavioral sciences about overcoming the power paradox, including practical techniques for listening more effectively. By training empathic habits of mind, leaders and organizations can use a fundamental human quality to make sure people from all backgrounds and perspectives feel seen, heard, and understood.

Empathy is often stereotyped as a squishy “soft” skill—either irrelevant to, or problematic for, the bottom line.  In fact, the opposite is true: empathy is an organizational superpower that makes collaboration more efficient, employees happier, and leadership more effective.  Empathy tracks bottom line success and people have caught on.  A whopping 85% of CEOs in a recent survey said empathy was important for their bottom line, and over 90% of employees said they’d be more loyal to an empathic company.  In the hunt to recruit and keep top talent, making team members feel seen and heard is a key competitive advantage.  It also helps orgs cultivate more inclusive and open communities.

So, now that companies are picking up on the value of empathy—what happens next? An increasing number of organizations have started trying to roll out empathy as a corporate value, but the results are often mixed, with many failing in tragic or comic fashions. In the same survey where CEOs sung empathy’s praises, over 90% of their employees said their company wasn’t empathic enough.  In other words, there’s a gap between the values leaders are putting on their walls and the reality their teams are experiencing on the ground.

In this talk, Stanford’s Jamil Zaki will share key insights from the science of empathy—showing corporate leaders that 1) empathy is more than one thing, 2) it’s a learnable skill, and 3) it resides not only in people, but in cultures. Whether you’re the head of HR at a global organization, or the founder of a 4-person start-up, Zaki’s talk is required listening for anyone who wants concrete strategies for bringing empathy in the workplace.