Both compassion and suffering are deeply wired in our subcortical brains, best shown in this photo of two premature twins born in Massachusetts in the 1990s. The flourishing one is comforting the suffering one, which saved her life.

We share both basic needs and capacities – to suffer and to soothe the suffering.

Empathy is as vital for leadership as health and wellness, a primary human capacity that is in short supply in our uncertain and complex corporate and healthcare cultures. Coaches are on the front line in helping ourselves and our clients lead with compassion for all that we juggle in work and self-care.

This MasterClass features work on empathy from Harvard psychiatrist and empathy expert, Helen Riess, and psychologist Kristin Neff, whose research on self-compassion over the past decade has put the field on the map. We also include Dr. Eva Selhub's material focused on what she calls  the "Love Response."

Please see our Related Resources section for more rich content, including articles by Kristin Neff and Helen Riess.

Watch as Dr. Eva Selhub discusses the effect of positive emotions: