Your workplace runs on guessing games because nobody’s practicing cognitive empathy—the skill of understanding how others think without agreeing or absorbing their feelings.
The story
Problem:
Your workplace is running on “Guess What Your Boss Meant” mode.
People talk past each other, projects stall, and half your energy goes into decoding emails that *sound* polite but feel like a stealth attack.
Translation: lots of smart people, very little cognitive empathy.
Clinical: Cognitive empathy is the skill of accurately understanding how someone is thinking—without needing to agree or absorb their feelings.
Street: “Ohhh, that’s the story in *their* head. Got it. Now I can respond on purpose instead of react on autopilot.”
Without it, you get:
– Meetings where everyone leaves with a different plan.
– Feedback that lands like an insult.
– Leaders who think they’re “being clear” while the team quietly panics.
Solution:
Build cognitive empathy as a deliberate business tool, not a random personality trait.
Chapter 18 of *A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind* by Scott Howard Swain zooms in on exactly this: using cognitive empathy in a business environment so:
– collaboration stops being a cage match,
– conflict becomes data instead of drama,
– and you can influence without steamrolling.
If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not sensitive, I’m just surrounded by chaos,” this chapter is your manual.
Want meetings that don’t require emotional hazmat gear?
Start with Chapter 18.
