CjMoore-Empathy.md

What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?

• Empathy is what allows me to connect with the people around me. It is what makes me a better family-member and friend. It helps me see things from other's perspectives and therefore gives me a better understanding of the world around me. It has helped me communicate and listen in settings and circumstances both professional and personal.

How does empathy help you build better software?

• Software is made for the user. Empathy allows the developer to anticipate needs of users and consumers. It is essential to building a product that connects with those who are in need of what its function provides. Empathy is the key to determining the needs of those who are going to be using software.

Why is empathy important for working on a team?

• Empathy is important when working in a team because it eases the process of solving interpersonal conflicts that inevitibly occur in cooperation. Understanding the feelings and circumstances of teammates helps you relate to them and ameliorate contention and competition. It is also important with regards to motivation. Understanding the needs of ones teammates helps you know what factors and types of encouragement will help motivate everyone to work together and get the job done.

Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.

• Previously, I worked in a kitchen as a supervisor. In that position I encountered and worked with many different people from many different backgrounds and circumstances. There was a high turnover rate and I was constantly encountering and training new people. Empathy helped me connect with the people I trained which ultimately helped me get along well with most of my colleagues, but also helped me predict where problems might occour. If I learned anything at that job it was how to empathize with people from vastly different circumstances than myself.

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 have very little empathy for laziness, half-heartedness, self-centered attitudes, and self-importance. That said, there are many reasons why I might mispercieve someone as having one of the above qualitites. I believe the best way to counter my lack of empathy with these individuals is to question my judgements, determining whether or not they are accurate. If I find that my judgements are in fact accurate I think communication is the key to solving most interpersonal issues. I think it is improtant to use straightforward communication, and possibly involving a third party as a mediatior.