- What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
My mother has always been an incredibly empathetic person and instilled that value in my early. She taught me to respect and listen to what anyone has to say whether they are 3 years old or 75. Being able to see everyone as a person of value as helped me tremendously through life. Throught my schooling and out I have found that I am able to build relationships with people from all different walks of life and social statuses.
- How does empathy help you build better software?
Listening empathetically enhances your ability to recieve information. Empathy is going past the problem at hand and into the root and feelings of it to better create a useful piece of software for your client or company. Being able empathize with the people and the problem you are solving for them leads to better opportunites for product innovation. Practicing empathy in your software design also allows for an easier and more open platform to give and receive feedback that can only help to improve your software.
- Why is empathy important for working on a team?
Empathy is important for working on a team because it allows a team to delve into the personal side of teamwork and development. Without empathy in a group it can be hard for teams to share ideas and be comfortable with feedback that is good and bad. It is crucial in a team to be able to actively listen and support each other, especially in software development where you are constantly searching for and learning new material. Having a personal understanding of each persons background, leads to an understanding of team members strengths and how they can be applied to the project at hand.
- Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
In my senior year of high school I attended a entrepreneurship program for half a day monday-thursday. There I was put into a group with 3 other students and was asked to build a business plan from scratch over the course of about 4 months. The 3 other students could not have been more different from me. By using empathy I was able to step into their shoes and better grasp what talents and insight they could provide for our business. Even though we were vastly different out side of class, we were able to put that aside and create a working business plan that we could confidently pitch in front of a group of over 100 people.
- When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
I find it most difficult to be empathetic when paired with a team member who actively complains and lets outside distractions affect their attitude towards our work. Without having a long-winded conversation, I usually try to ask a couple easy questions and get to the source/distract them from why they may be a little off task that day. I think taking a little extra time to listen to others and recognize what might be going on in their lives can go a long way in developing trust and teamwork. Rather than letting them get down on themselves or the team with things that are unrelated to our work.