Some of us are natural-born empaths - those with an exceptional gift for feeling and understanding the emotions, circumstances, and needs of others. But empathy, according to this week's podcast guest Karla McLaren, is a universal human skill that we can all learn to awaken and use wisely.  In today’s episode, we take a deep dive into emotional intelligence and talk about the definition of empathy, why empathy is important for emotional intelligence, ways to shift or embrace your emotions, and why there are no negative and positive emotions. We also discuss emotions in the workplace, what organizations can do to create a safe place for emotions, why emotions change with hierarchy, the basic things companies can do to embrace emotions, and much more! Karla McLaren is an award-winning author, social science researcher, workplace consultant, and empathy pioneer. Her lifelong work focuses on her grand unified theory of emotions, which revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC and the developer of the Empathy Academy online learning site. She is also the author of several books on this subject, such as The Power of Emotions at Work. To connect with Karla and learn more about her work, visit www.EmotionDynamics.org or www.EmpathyAcademy.org Tune in to learn the power of your emotions with expert and author Karla McLaren!