This article’s goal is to evaluate how today’s future leaders perceive empathic communication, which is said to be a 21st century skill. Building on the theoretical framework of the theory of planned behaviour, a total of n = 51 students from advanced business degree programmes participated in an online survey and answered a series of questions regarding the perceived advantages and disadvantages of empathic communication, the sources of social pressure that will influence the practice of empathic communication in their future professional lives, as well as supportive and obstructive frame conditions. The surveyed students thus revealed their behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs. In order to analyse the collected data, the study employed a two-step approach of summarising qualitative content analysis with inductive category formation. The results demonstrate a multifaceted picture, providing reasons and avenues for the implementation of empathic communication as a valuable competency of the new generation of communication in leadership.