Voss and Pařík open up the topic of leadership of the future. The basis is empathy

● The world's biggest negotiating star and author of the bestseller “Never Compromise” arrives in Prague for the “Leaders of the Future” conference

● With the president of the Association of Negotiators Radim Parik, he will present the book “Empathetic Leadership,” which went on sale today

● The book and conference will offer solutions to major conflicts and crises in the leadership of states and companies

Prague, April 11, 2024 — At the invitation of Radim Parik, the legendary American FBI negotiator Chris Voss will visit Prague this autumn. Today, their joint book “Empathetic Leadership” is being published in the United States of America, which has been produced since the summer of 2023 in collaboration with other authors from managers, leaders and negotiators from around the world. Radim Parik is the only one from the European Union who contributed to the book by Chis Voss. In the book, he thus represents the European negotiating scene.

“Empathetic Leadership” has its much-anticipated debut today, April 11, 2024. He wants to reach readers around the world with expert insights into the effective management of organizations. In his chapter “How to Win at the Negotiating Table”, Radim Parík discusses strategies to promote empathy and effective negotiation. The book was created by SuccessBooks®.

The theme of the book is an indirect response to the crisis of world leadership and to the evolutionary need for leaders in times of deep crises and sharpened conflicts. He will also attend the upcoming Leaders of the Future conference on October 8 at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle, where Chris Voss and Radim Parík will speak as keynote speakers. The conference is organised by the Negotiators Association and the Empiria 21 Business Club and follows on from last year's successful “Key to Communication” conference.

The fact that today's world is experiencing a crisis of leadership was highlighted by the World Economic Forum as early as 2015, when it published the results of a global research that identified the abysmal gap between power and competence as the main reason. “Those in power, whether in the corporate environment or at the level of political representation, do not necessarily fulfill their duties for the benefit of those they lead,” explains Radim Parík, adding that another landmark that has affected global leadership was the Covid pandemic.

“Political leaders, in the truest sense of the word, are gradually fading away. Even in our area, they are beginning to be replaced by groups with economic interests. At the head of companies, complex personalities appear without trying to build relationships with other employees and make decisions mainly in their own favor. The good news is that there is no shortage of talented young people with the potential to become great leaders if their organizations are willing to invest in them,” adds the president of the Association of Negotiators. A useful tool and foundation for successful leadership of people is empathy. Empathy is one of the basic communication skills. So-called tactical empathy is one of the most effective procedures in negotiation. We can learn empathy, and we can train it.

“People confuse empathy with sympathy and compassion. Just because we are empathetic does not mean that we have to agree with others and like them. Empathy is the ability to provide understanding and respect. That is, I do not evaluate personalities or their opinions, I listen carefully and perceive others as equals,” explains Parík.

Empathic leadership is also related to the issue of equality between men and women in leadership positions. “Women are naturally closer to caring and cooperative, while men can adopt a dominant, transactional and hierarchical style. Experience shows that women excel in most leadership skills, including taking the initiative, striving for results and employee development,” says Radim Parik, adding that it is also necessary to develop young people and prepare companies and political parties for generational change.

Chris Voss served as the FBI's chief crisis negotiator for the New York Division of the FBI and as the FBI's chief negotiator with the kidnappers. He helped develop the field of negotiation across the entire federal office. Hostage negotiators apply the principles established during his service to this day. Additionally, Voss practiced them into business negotiations and taught these principles at universities in Northern California, Georgetown, and Harvard. In May 2016, he published the bestseller “Never Compromise: Negotiate as if it were your life's worth”, which has since become the most widely read book on negotiation in the world.

Radim Pařík is the only personal pupil of Chris Voss in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He is the author of the Czech bestseller on negotiation “The Art of Negotiating Anything”. He served as a board member of one of the world's largest retailers (Schwarz Gruppe). He masters the negotiation techniques of the FBI and Mossad, has received training to negotiate with kidnappers and terrorists. He is an expert in body language and lie detection. It helps companies in difficult negotiations, and also accompanies top politicians in negotiations. He taught Secret Service agents to negotiate. As the founder of Fascinating Academy, he established negotiation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as a field of study. He co-founded and as president leads the International Association of Negotiators.

More detailed information about the Leaders of the Future conference is regularly published by the organizers on the website www.c-level.cz. The book “Empathetic Leadership” is available in English on Amazon.com.

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