I was recently a guest of the Finnish Embassy of London, invited to experience an evening of Radical Empathy. I lived in Helsinki, Finland working for Nokia earlier in my career and this gave me a huge appreciation of the country, the people and their perspective on the world, so I was delighted to be invited to this.
Showcasing the work of the world’s first empathy artist and designer, Finnish-born and London-based Enni-Kukka Tuomala, this was a great opportunity to meet folk with a common goal of enhancing empathy in the world. Many of them are using art in a range of different forms to achieve this, which led to some fascinating conversations.
“Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”
Empathy Echo Chamber - London Design Biennale 2021 Designed by Enni-Kukka Tuomala, Photo by Ed Reeve
In her work at the London Design Bienniale, supported by the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, and the Finnish Embassy, Tuomala has brought her own Empathy Echo Chamber to life in the shape of a physical chamber, literally made of reflective material. It offers strangers a space to step outside themselves and reflect on their experiences together.
Empathy Echo Chamber - London Design Biennale 2021 Designed by Enni-Kukka Tuomala, Photo by Ed Reeve
She argues that we’re all increasingly living inside our own echo chambers, curating our own worlds and, as a result, we’re facing a global empathy deficit. I agree with her. When we get into an ‘echo chamber conversation’, I’ve seen critical thinking become virtually non-existent, empathy plummets and polarisation increases.
Tuomala’s aim with the Empathy Echo Chamber is to provide a physical – and emotional - space where strangers come together, turning the sometimes intangible concept of empathy into something very tangible.
Sounds great, but how is this relevant for organisations? How can art with a focus on empathy make a difference in a work context, especially in situations of change? I think it really matters and here’s why…
If we consider what’s happening right now, where we’re going through another transition as a result of the pandemic, many of us are renegotiating and reshaping our relationships and that includes in the workplace. Listening, connection, empathy, compassion – all vital if we’re to have productive, supportive and honest working relationships.
There’s a belief that’s been debated many times in the last 16 months that we we’re now better connected thanks to technology – Zoom, FaceTime and Teams etc – and that debate is continuing in discussions about the future of work. To an extent, I’d agree - these tools enable us to be connected in a two-dimensional way and at least see people, but we’re definitely missing that 3D emotional connection (which includes hugs and handshakes too).
From my take on the Empathy Echo Chamber, environment plays an important role in optimising empathy – take the example of light. I met the founders of the company Light Cognitive, whose solution recreates the dynamics of natural light and who supported Tuomala’s installation. We discussed the importance of light for human beings which got me thinking - if light positively impacts our mood, then we are very likely to be in a mindset to be more empathetic. Light is one factor in environments - how can we enhance our workspaces to optimise empathy and create better conversations, relationships and ultimately productivity?
In today’s world, opinions and ideas can be polarised, especially on emotive topics, triggering emotions at the push of a button. So, having a space where we have the chance to consider things from another person’s perspective, where we can listen deeply, allow people to be heard and reflect, feels like an opportunity we should both treasure and experience more often.
Distance and space were two words that cropped up throughout the evening for me. In the last 16 months, the two words ‘social’ and ‘distance’ have been slammed together, when what we’ve really meant all along is a need for physical distancing to keep a virus at bay. We are social animals and our primal need for real connection with other humans – especially when we face uncertainty - has been in the spotlight as a result of our pandemic experience.
Many of us are re-learning and re-contracting some of these physical boundaries of space and distance as we go through this next phase of change – each of us will have a different set of boundaries that we’re negotiating. And that will apply equally in a workplace context.
In the virtual Empathy Echo Chamber visitors share questions for us to ask ourselves and we have the chance to pose our own question too. If we were to use this approach in a team or organisation context, how could it help to improve our teams, our ways of working and our workplaces overall?
How could you develop the opportunity for your teams to experience radical empathy - to listen better, think in different ways, build stronger relationships and connections, especially when they are facing change and uncertainty? What benefit do you think that could bring for your business?
Lots of food for thought.
By the way - if you still think this might all be just a bit woo-woo, Tuomala has been working with the Finnish Parliament to bring more empathy into politics, since 2018.
It’s also worth remembering that Finland has been named the happiest place in the world for four years running - you can read ideas about why that might be, here.
If you’d like to explore how you could put people at the heart of any change in your organisation, with coaching and a focus on wellbeing, resilience and communication, get in touch.
Find out more: https://ennikukka.com/
https://www.fininst.uk/events/step-inside-the-empathy-echo-chamber-with-enni-kukka-tuomala/
Enni-Kukka Tuomala is also the Open House Artist in Residence for North Cambridge 2020/21 – find out more about the Campaign for Empathy for North Cambridge here.