Empathy: The Magician’s Secret to Leadership

If you were to make a list of a magician’s greatest assets, you’d probably start with the obvious things: misdirection, sleight of hand, maybe expert tiger-handling. But I’ll tell you a secret — after spending more than 20 years as a magician and serving as the Executive Director of Empatico, a company dedicated to fostering social and emotional learning across the world, the real secret is empathy.

I’ve long known what research is now confirming: empathy isn’t just a “soft skill” — it’s the most important skill for a leader to possess and the fundamental driver of business success.

A recent survey from the global nonprofit Catalyst found that under empathetic leadership, innovation soars (61% versus 13% under less empathetic leaders,) engagement skyrockets (76% versus 32%,) and inclusivity flourishes (50% versus 17%.) Like a magician who must see their performance through their audience’s eyes, effective leaders who truly understand and connect with their team produce significantly higher results.

If you boil every magic trick down to its essence, it’s the act of doing one thing (the sleight of hand), while saying you’re doing something else (the performance). But to do this effectively, a magician must understand exactly how their audience will interpret each movement, each word, each moment. Humans are literally wired for empathy, but it requires a deliberate and mindful practice both on stage and in the workplace to continuously step outside oneself and look at who our audience is, how we’re being perceived and ensure it aligns with our intentions.

During my time at Empatico, in my coaching, and through my magic performances, I’ve found a unique way to help leaders understand and apply the three scientifically recognized types of empathy (as described by the brilliant Jamil Zaki in “The War for Kindness”.) Every magic trick needs a setup, motivation, and punchline; empathic leaders can follow a similar pattern to find success:

1. Cognitive Empathy (The Setup): Just as a magician must anticipate their audience’s thoughts, leaders must practice what researchers call cognitive empathy — asking themselves, “If I were in their position, what would believe is happening right now?”

2. Emotional Empathy (The Motivation): A University of Virginia study found that people experience brain activity in the same regions when their friends are threatened as when they themselves are threatened. This emotional connection is everything — it’s not enough to understand what people think; you must feel what they feel. Leaders can use this moment to build a story for their team that explains not only what they’re doing, but why they’re doing it.

3. Behavioral Empathy (The Punchline): Just as a magician uses this moment to subvert expectations and turn the world on its head to create wonder, leaders must transform their cognitive and emotional understanding into meaningful action. Business leaders can use this final step to create positive change — whether that’s adjusting a project timeline after understanding a team’s challenges, implementing new policies based on employee feedback, or transforming company culture through demonstrated empathy. It’s where understanding becomes action and insight becomes impact.

In today’s workplace, where 42% of people report declining mental health and 67% experience increased stress, empathetic action isn’t optional — it’s essential. The results speak for themselves: 86% of employees with empathetic leaders report successfully navigating work-life demands, compared to just 60% of those with less empathetic leadership. Even more telling? Empathy breeds empathy — research in Evolutionary Biology shows that when empathy enters decision-making processes, it increases cooperation and generates more empathy throughout the organization.

Remember, the real secret of magic isn’t in the trick itself — it’s in the connection with the audience. And in leadership, just as in magic, that connection is everything. I’ve spent my career proving this truth from both sides of the equation, and now research confirms what magicians have known for centuries: the real magic happens when you lead with empathy.

Want to see how these three types of empathy work in practice? Check out my “Magic of Empathy” video below!