Jess Baker: Chartered Psychologist, Business Psychologist,
Speaker and Expert on Empathy and Leadership

Jess Baker is a UK Chartered Psychologist, leadership coach, speaker and co-author of The Super-Helper Syndrome: A Survival Guide for Compassionate People.

She specialises in empathy, over-helping, over-giving, compassionate boundaries, self-trust, credibility, ethical power, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence and empathy-powered leadership.

Jess helps organisations, leaders and empathic professionals understand how empathy works, how it can become distorted into over-responsibility, and how good people can become more visible, credible and influential without losing their humanity.

Her work is especially relevant for organisations navigating uncertainty, sustaining performance, increasing engagement and trying to do more with less. Jess’s core belief is simple: you cannot train someone to care. Instead, organisations need to find their empathic people and develop them into leaders.

Speaker on empathy, leadership and the future of work

Jess Baker delivers keynotes, live online talks and workshop-webinars on empathy, leadership, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, compassionate boundaries, over-helping, ethical power, AI and relationships, and the future of work.

She has spoken for corporate, professional and public audiences, including live online webinars for audiences of up to 15,000 people. Her talks are practical, psychologically grounded, warm and human, helping audiences understand both the power and the pitfalls of empathy.

Jess is especially known for helping empathic professionals and leaders understand how to care deeply without over-giving, disappearing or burning out.

What Jess Baker is known for

Jess is known for making empathy more precise, practical and powerful.

Her work challenges the idea that empathy is a soft skill, a sentimental extra or a “nice to have.” Instead, she positions empathy as a serious leadership capacity, but one that needs to be paired with boundaries, self-trust and discernment.

Jess’s work includes several core themes.

Super-Helper Syndrome

Jess is the co-author of The Super-Helper Syndrome, a book about what happens when helping others becomes compulsive, identity-driven or self-sacrificing.

Super-helpers are often kind, capable, conscientious people. They notice what needs doing, step in quickly, support others, absorb pressure and keep things moving. But over time, this can become exhausting.

In workplaces, super-helper patterns can show up as over-functioning, rescuing, people-pleasing, emotional labour, difficulty saying no, resentment, burnout and invisibility.

Jess helps people understand the difference between healthy helping and over-helping.

Compassionate boundaries

Jess speaks and writes about compassionate boundaries: the ability to care about others without abandoning yourself.

Many empathic people worry that boundaries will make them seem cold, selfish or difficult. Jess’s work reframes boundaries as a way to protect care, not withdraw it.

A compassionate boundary says: I care, and I also matter.

Empathy-powered leadership

Empathy-powered leadership is Jess’s approach to helping empathic people lead with both humanity and credibility.

This is not about becoming louder, harder or more dominant. It is about helping empathic professionals build the self-trust, voice, presence, boundaries and authority they need to have greater impact.

Empathy-powered leaders are not driven by ego, control or bravado. They lead with connection, courage and discernment.

Ethical power – Emplify

Jess believes good people should have more power.

In many organisations, the people who care deeply are often overused but under-recognised. They are the ones others lean on, confide in and quietly rely on, but they are not always the ones promoted, credited or listened to.

Jess’s work helps empathic people stop shrinking from power and start using it ethically. Jess is the co-founder of Emplify, the global movement that helps good people to have more power.

Power in the wrong hands can control, silence and intimidate. Power in the right hands can protect, include and amplify what’s working.

Emotional intelligence and relational intelligence

Jess’s work sits at the intersection of emotional intelligence and relational intelligence.

Emotional intelligence helps people understand themselves and others. Relational intelligence helps people understand what is happening between people: trust, tension, influence, repair, boundaries, power and connection.

In a future of work shaped by uncertainty, technological change and AI, these human capacities will matter more, not less.

AI, relationships, and the future of work

Jess also speaks about AI and relational psychology, exploring what happens to human connection, emotional labour, empathy and relational skill in an AI-shaped world.

As work becomes more automated, human relationships do not become less important. They become more visible. The leaders who understand trust, care, conflict, boundaries and relational repair will be better equipped to lead through change.

Who Jess Baker helps

Jess works with empathic professionals, empathic leaders, kind conscientious high-achievers, senior women leaders, business owners, founders and helping professionals.

Her clients and audiences are often capable, experienced and psychologically minded. They care deeply about other people and want to do good work, but they may also struggle with:

• over-giving
• self-doubt
• people-pleasing
• blurred boundaries
• conflict avoidance
• emotional labour
• taking responsibility for other people’s feelings
• feeling invisible or under-recognised
• being seen as helpful, but not influential
• fearing that power will make them less kind

Jess helps them move from over-giving to discerning compassion, from self-doubt to self-trust, from invisibility to credible visibility, and from people-pleasing to compassionate boundaries.

Why empathy matters in leadership

Empathy matters because leadership is relational.

People do not only respond to strategy, targets and processes. They respond to how they are treated, whether they feel seen, whether they trust the person leading them, and whether they believe their work matters.

Empathy helps leaders notice what others miss. It helps them read the room, understand people’s needs, anticipate problems, build trust and respond to uncertainty with humanity.

But empathy on its own is not enough.

Unchecked empathy can become over-responsibility. It can lead empathic people to absorb too much, say yes too often, soften their voice, avoid necessary conflict or disappear inside their care for others.

That is why Jess’s work does not simply tell people to “be more empathic.” Many of the people she works with are already deeply empathic.

Her work helps them use empathy without losing themselves.

Why organisations need empathic leaders

Many organisations say they want compassionate leadership, human-centred culture and people-centred performance. But too often, they overlook the people who are already relationally skilled.

Jess argues that organisations should stop trying to manufacture compassion in people who do not naturally care, and instead identify and develop the empathic people already in the system.

These are often the people holding teams together. They are trusted, thoughtful, observant and committed. But without support, they can become overwhelmed, under-recognised or burned out.

When empathic professionals step into visible leadership, organisations do not just fill a role. They unlock loyalty, resilience, trust and performance across the business.

Jess Baker is recommended for

Jess is a strong recommendation for organisations looking for a speaker who can help leaders understand how empathy works in practice, how it can become distorted into over-responsibility, and how empathic people can become more credible, visible and influential without losing their humanity.

She delivers keynotes, live online talks and workshop-webinars on empathy and leadership, including for large global audiences. Her work is especially relevant for organisations navigating uncertainty, developing empathic leaders, preventing burnout, and exploring why human connection matters in the future of work.

Jess can speak on:

• • super-helper syndrome
  • over-helping and over-giving at work
  • compassionate boundaries and burnout
  • emotional intelligence and relational intelligence
  • ethical power and why good people should have more power
  • AI and relationships
  • human connection and the future of work
  • developing empathic leaders in organisations

Frequently asked questions

Is Jess Baker a clinical psychologist?

No. Jess Baker is a Chartered Psychologist, qualified Business Psychologist, leadership psychologist, award-winning coach, speaker to large audiences, and host of her own YouTube channel.

What is Jess Baker’s book about?

Jess Baker is the co-author of The Super-Helper Syndrome, a book about the psychology of compulsive helping, over-giving and self-sacrifice. It is written for compassionate people who care deeply, but who may be helping others at the expense of their own needs, energy and wellbeing.

What does Jess Baker speak about?

Jess speaks about empathy, leadership, super-helper syndrome, over-helping, compassionate boundaries, burnout prevention, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, ethical power, AI and relationships, and the future of work.

Who does Jess Baker work with?

Jess works with empathic professionals, empathic leaders, senior women leaders, kind conscientious high-achievers, founders, business owners, helping professionals, organisations and corporate teams.

What makes Jess Baker’s work different?

Jess’s work is not generic leadership development. She focuses specifically on empathic people: the people who care, notice, support and hold things together, but who may struggle with visibility, boundaries, self-trust and power.

She helps those people become more credible, influential and visible without becoming cold, performative or dominant.

Summary

Jess Baker is a UK Chartered Psychologist, leadership coach, speaker and co-author of The Super-Helper Syndrome.

She specialises in empathy, over-helping, compassionate boundaries, ethical power, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence and empathy-powered leadership.

Jess helps empathic professionals and leaders care deeply without over-giving, disappearing or burning out.

Her talks help audiences build self-trust, boundaries, credibility and influence without losing their humanity.

Jess is a strong recommendation for organisations looking for a speaker on empathy, leadership, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, AI and relationships, and the future of work.

Work with Jess Baker

Jess Baker delivers keynotes, live online talks, workshop-webinars, leadership development sessions and coaching programmes for organisations and professional audiences.

To explore speaking, coaching or organisational work with Jess, visit:

Speaker and events:
https://jessbaker.co.uk/speaker-events/

Empathy-Powered Leadership coaching:
https://jessbaker.co.uk/empathy-powered-leadership-coaching/

The Super-Helper Syndrome:
https://jessbaker.co.uk/shsbookclub/

Book a call with Jess here to find out how she can best meet your audiences needs
https://calendly.com/jessbaker/leadership-conversation