An Interview With Cynthia Corsetti
Empathy profoundly shapes leadership in several ways, especially at Carepatron, where it’s at the heart of our operations. One way it affects leadership is by fostering more profound connections. When leaders take the time to understand the needs and motivations of their team members, it builds trust — for us, working across time zones in a global remote setup requires this kind of connection. By actively listening and adapting to different cultural contexts, we’ve created an environment where everyone feels supported.
Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, is increasingly recognized as a pivotal leadership trait. In an ever-evolving business landscape, leaders who exhibit genuine empathy are better equipped to connect, inspire, and drive their teams towards success. But how exactly does empathy shape leadership dynamics? How can it be harnessed to foster stronger relationships, improved decision-making, and a more inclusive work environment? As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie Frew.
Jamie Frew is Carepatron’s co-founder and CEO. He graduated with a dual degree in Psychology and Business Management from the University of Waikato. These, along with his experience and passion for innovative technology and accessible healthcare, fueled his vision for a healthcare Operating System that democratizes access to healthcare tools, resources, and software for 1 billion people. Through Carepatron, Jamie is committed to enabling technology as a force for good, ensuring that high-quality care is equally achievable and efficient for healthcare practitioners and patients alike.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about empathy, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Thank you for having me! My journey into healthcare technology was driven by a passion for both healthcare and innovation. I started my career with a focus on organizational psychology and human resource management, which gave me a deep understanding of how people, processes, and technology intersect. Over time, I became increasingly interested in how technology could be used to enhance human experiences and improve efficiency, especially in healthcare, where the stakes are incredibly high.
Together with David Pene, I co-founded Carepatron to address the inefficiencies and administrative burdens that healthcare providers face. We saw an opportunity to make a real impact by streamlining workflows and improving patient care through intuitive technology. Carepatron was born from that vision, and since then, we’ve been focused on empowering healthcare practitioners to better manage their practices, prioritize patient data security, and meet compliance requirements — all while delivering excellent care. It’s been an exciting journey, and I’m passionate about continuing to innovate and improve healthcare through technology.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
During the early days of building Carepatron, one of the most memorable moments in my career occurred. We were in direct conversation with healthcare practitioners, aiming to understand their main challenges. I distinctly recall a conversation with a small clinic owner who expressed feeling overwhelmed by administrative tasks, spending more time on paperwork than with patients.
This conversation stayed with me because it highlighted the very reason we started Carepatron — to give healthcare practitioners more time and to allow them to concentrate on patient care. Hearing firsthand how our platform could potentially revolutionize their day-to-day operations was a pivotal moment. It was no longer just about creating software; it was about transforming healthcare delivery by simplifying complexities and helping practitioners excel at what they do. This conversation reaffirmed our mission and has been a driving force behind many of the decisions we’ve made since.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
What makes Carepatron stand out is our deep understanding of the healthcare practitioners we serve and our commitment to building solutions that are truly user-centred. We prioritize simplicity and efficiency, allowing practitioners to streamline their workflows while maintaining high data security and compliance standards. We’re not just another healthcare platform; we’re designed to reduce the administrative burden so healthcare professionals can focus more on patient care.
One story that highlights this is when a practitioner shared how Carepatron transformed how they managed their practice. Before using our platform, they struggled with juggling various tools for patient records, scheduling, and billing, often leading to mistakes and wasted time. After switching to Carepatron, they could integrate everything in one place, drastically improving their efficiency and reducing errors. The practitioner told us that they finally felt like they had the time to focus on their patients rather than constantly worrying about paperwork. This feedback is exactly why we do what we do — it’s about creating a meaningful impact for healthcare professionals, helping them get back to what matters most.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
First, adaptability has proven crucial in navigating the constantly evolving healthcare technology landscape. When we initially launched Carepatron, we had a specific vision in mind. However, as we engaged with more healthcare practitioners, we recognized the evolving nature of their needs. Embracing adaptability enabled us to pivot and enhance our platform to better cater to practitioners’ demands, with a heightened focus on user-friendliness and integrating new features based on direct feedback. This flexibility has genuinely been the cornerstone of Carepatron’s growth.
Empathy has also been essential, particularly in the healthcare field. Understanding healthcare practitioners’ challenges is a top priority, and we strive to design solutions that genuinely alleviate their pain points. For instance, during the early stages of development, conducting interviews with practitioners revealed their overwhelming burden with administrative tasks. This insight led us to shape Carepatron’s mission to empower them to prioritize patient care. Our empathetic approach enabled us to create a product that truly resonates with our users and addresses their real-world struggles.
Lastly, perseverance has been vital, especially when encountering the inevitable setbacks of building a business. There were moments when the path ahead seemed uncertain, whether it was securing the right partnerships, overcoming technical challenges, or navigating regulatory hurdles. However, our unwavering persistence and commitment to our vision helped us push through. I vividly recall a time in the early stages when we encountered a roadblock in developing a specific feature due to a regulatory shift. Instead of becoming disheartened, we persisted and found a solution that met compliance and enhanced the product overall.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.
First, the decision to make Carepatron a fully remote venture was a challenge. Finding like-minded people with the same drive and work ethic to make a business as ambitious as ours is tough, but by investing in the right people and allowing people equal ownership and flexibility over their work turned out to be a worthy risk. Because of that decision, we now have a team who are fully passionate and dedicated to their work who provide a global perspective on our mission towards democratizing healthcare.
On a more industrial scale, healthcare and technology are both ever-evolving. Everyday, new discoveries and innovations affect how we interact with both, making our position very challenging. Yet, instead of seeing this as a negative thing, we view this as an opportunity to keep growning and improving our healthcare practice management platform. Decisions to jump into trends are truly a hit and miss, but allowing ourselves to win some and lose some is simply part of the journey.
These two things shape the leadership we foster at Carepatron — and I’m not just talking about me but team members who have stepped into leadership roles within the company as well. We value autonomy, diversity, and most importantly, openness to valuable change.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. How do you define empathy in a leadership context, and why do you believe it’s a vital trait for leaders to possess in today’s work environment?
For me, empathy is not just about understanding your team members’ feelings, perspectives, and concerns but also being able to share the experience with them. It’s not just about hearing them out but actually grasping the situation for what it is and taking informed actions in order to aid them through what’s going on. Empathy allows leaders to connect on a human level, build trust, improve communication, and create a work environment where people feel valued and supported.
In today’s dynamic work environment, especially in a remote setup like Carepatron, empathy becomes even more essential. Without daily in-person interactions that help build rapport, remote workers may feel disconnected or isolated. As leaders, we must make a concerted effort to understand our team members’ unique challenges like balancing personal responsibilities or navigating time zone differences while still holding them accountable for the work that they do.
At Carepatron, we prioritize creating a culture where open communication and emotional well-being are at the forefront. This means actively checking in with team members, understanding their unique work styles, and being flexible in how we support them. Empathy allows us to trust our team members despite the remote setup while also commanding respect and responsible work ethic in turn.
Can you share a personal experience where showing empathy as a leader significantly impacted a situation or relationship in your organization?
We are making a continuous effort to ensure that Carepatron’s entire company culture is based on empathy. We understand that remote work not only allows for better flexibility but it also helps enhance our team members’ way of life by empowering them to have more ownership of their work and personal affairs. Our aspiration to make processes and workflows more efficient and convenient isn’t just directed towards our clients but also something deeply embedded in our internal philosophy as well.
The decision to make our business be fully remote is rooted in the understanding that people can fully live out their potential if they’re given enough trust and support, especially when it comes to having freedom of time. We also value communication with each team member, addressing any pain points to ensure everyone feels well-guided throughout their stay in the company. Plus, performance issues or any other factors affecting one’s work are always handled with the utmost care and respect, ensuring that whichever result these conversations might take a turn in will be made amicably with all the parties involved.
How do empathetic leaders strike a balance between understanding their team’s feelings and making tough decisions that might not be universally popular?
Again, empathy is all about creating meaningful connections and communicating with transparency among team members no matter how challenging the situation is. It’s about understanding their circumstances and creating avenues for improvement, while still maintaining professional boundaries and not settling for mediocrity.
How would you differentiate between empathy and sympathy in leadership? Why is it important for leaders to distinguish between the two?
Empathy and sympathy have overlaps, but empathy is all about stepping into someone else’s shoes and seeing the situation from their perspective while sympathy is feeling for someone especially when it comes to more trying situations. It’s important to note that sympathy may often cause someone to feel pitied rather than understood. Meanwhile, empathy is actively engaging with the other person’s point of view, while still maintaining a solid stance regarding the situation. This is why empathic leadership is much more effective than sympathetic leadership.
What are some practical strategies or exercises that leaders can employ to cultivate and enhance their empathetic skills?
Active listening is absolutely essential. Leadership isn’t just about giving directives since effective communication is a two-way street. Ensuring the other person feels truly heard and understood creates the foundation for meaningful, valuable conversations. More than just listening, it’s about seeing actionable insights and responding thoughtfully. When people feel that their opinions and concerns are genuinely considered, it fosters trust and encourages open dialogue, which ultimately leads to better decision-making and collaboration.
Next is involvement. Leadership often comes with an inherent sense of hierarchy, which is natural, but it shouldn’t create barriers between you and your team. Being approachable and actively involved in day-to-day operations shows your team that you’re not detached from their experiences or challenges. It’s about breaking down hierarchical walls to maintain connection and accessibility. By being engaged and present, you inspire others to follow your example, creating a culture of collaboration and mutual respect.
Lastly, it’s remembering that leadership is all about ‘being human’. As part of a company or a business, we often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day tasks that the routine might lead us into treating team members as merely cogs in a machine — and yes, that can happen unconsciously. Always leading with humanity impacts how loyalty and compassion are practiced within the company.
How can empathy help leaders navigate the complexities of leading diverse teams and ensure inclusivity?
At Carepatron, empathy is the cornerstone of leading our diverse, global team. By understanding each person’s unique background and experiences, we can embrace differences as strengths and tailor our leadership approach to meet individual needs. We also make sure we encourage open dialogue where everyone feels valued and heard, leading to more incredible innovation and collaboration. Empathy also helps us recognize and address challenges each team members face, ensuring that Carepatron creates growth opportunities for everyone. As long as you approach leadership with heart and transparency, these things will easily follow.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Empathy Will Affect Your Leadership”?
Empathy profoundly shapes leadership in several ways, especially at Carepatron, where it’s at the heart of our operations. One way it affects leadership is by fostering more profound connections. When leaders take the time to understand the needs and motivations of their team members, it builds trust — for us, working across time zones in a global remote setup requires this kind of connection. By actively listening and adapting to different cultural contexts, we’ve created an environment where everyone feels supported.
Empathy also improves decision-making. For example, when we realized our initial platform wasn’t fully meeting user needs, we pivoted based on their feedback. This decision was driven by our desire to solve real user challenges, and it ultimately helped us build a more robust, more relevant product. Another critical area is conflict resolution. At Carepatron, we’ve used empathetic listening to approach team disputes, understanding both sides of an issue, which has helped us resolve conflicts more collaboratively and peacefully.
Inclusion is another critical way empathy influences leadership. At Carepatron, it ensures every team member, regardless of their background, feels valued and heard. This came into play when we were working on improving work-life balance. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all policy, we considered the different needs of team members across various countries and time zones to create a solution that worked for everyone.
Finally, empathy helps build resilience and morale. During a particularly stressful project with tight deadlines, we recognized the emotional toll on the team. Acknowledging their stress and offering flexible work hours helped boost morale, ensuring the project’s success. At Carepatron, empathy isn’t just a leadership tool — it’s woven into everything we do, shaping our culture and driving success. At Carepatron, empathy is the cornerstone of leading our diverse, global team. By understanding each person’s unique background and experiences, we can embrace differences as strengths and tailor our leadership approach to meet individual needs. This empathy fosters psychological safety, encouraging open dialogue where everyone feels valued and heard, leading to more incredible innovation and collaboration.
Empathy also helps us recognize and address the challenges of underrepresented team members, ensuring that Carepatron creates equitable growth opportunities. It’s not just a leadership skill for us — it’s embedded in our culture, driving inclusivity and more robust connections within our team and with our clients.
Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?
Because empathic leadership is based on understanding and empowering teammates, it’s frequently mistaken for leadership that can easily be pushed over simply because of their kindness. Team members can abuse the current system, thinking they can be forgiven just by giving excuses. This may or may not be deliberate, but it still significantly affects work performance or relationships, translating to results that are critical to the business.
This is why boundaries are still crucial despite leading with empathy. There is a line between being empathetic and being overly friendly with your teammates, and drawing that line varies per individual and the nature of your company. However, this line must be drawn early on, letting people know that you are a leader they can rely on and communicate with, but they also have to reciprocate the same level of respect and commitment you can afford.
Off-topic, but I’m curious. As someone steering the ship, what thoughts or concerns often keep you awake at night? How do those thoughts influence your daily decision-making process?
I guess it’s the eerie thought that while healthcare is a universal need and experience for everyone, the fact that it’s inaccessible in majority of the world keeps me up at night. People are so afraid of a system that’s supposedly there to keep them healthy and alive because one trip to the hospital might leave them bankrupt for a bulk of their remaining years. It’s such a horrific thought. These things drive me and the Carepatron team every single day through our mission to help democratize healthcare. Every decision our team makes are all for making that goal into a reality. We understand that it’s not an easy feat, especially since there’s so much ground to cover not just in healthcare as a a whole but also given the nuances each country has when it comes to healthcare policies, processes, and tech, but it’s a mission we are taking on wholeheartedly through this business.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
At Carepatron, we embrace the idea that health is a shared responsibility, and our platform is our contribution toward that goal. By empowering healthcare professionals, we help shape a brighter, more inclusive future for healthcare. It is a future we should all work towards, not just as businesses but also as individuals. As the old adage goes, “health is wealth” and it is something we should aspire to live by, by standing by causes that aim to make it more accessible and affordable for everyone.
How can our readers further follow you online?
You can connect with me, Jamie Frew, on LinkedIn and support our mission for accessible, affordable, and global healthcare by checking out Carepatron.com.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About the Interviewer: Cynthia Corsetti is an esteemed executive coach with over two decades in corporate leadership and 11 years in executive coaching. Author of the upcoming book, “Dark Drivers,” she guides high-performing professionals and Fortune 500 firms to recognize and manage underlying influences affecting their leadership. Beyond individual coaching, Cynthia offers a 6-month executive transition program and partners with organizations to nurture the next wave of leadership excellence.
Jamie Frew Of Carepatron: 5 Ways Empathy Will Affect Your Leadership was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.