What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
- I've always considered myself a caring person and someone who is good at listening and empathizing with others. The things that I've gone through in my life have built me into who I am today and have taught me how powerful having empathy can be. I truly believe that everyone has a story to tell and that we should never be quick to judge. I believe that having empathy can help you build relationships, as well as help with conflict-resolution. Additionally, my background in marketing has also taught me the power of human-centered design and how important it is to put yourself in the shoes of you customer.
How does empathy help you build better software?
- Empathy and human-centered design go hand-in-hand. In order to effectively create a solution, you need to understand the underlying problem. It's easy for a designer to jump to conclusions as to what the problem is, but that's where empathy comes in. It's important to design a solution for the customer. In order to do so, you need to actively listen and put yourself in the shoes of the customer. By having empathy, you are creating a solution for the customer.
Why is empathy important for working on a team?
- Empathy helps build relationships, which is essential for working on a team. Having good interpersonal skills helps with understanding others viewpoints. It's important to understand that people come from a variety of backgrounds and with that bring different experience and biases. This can be very powerful, but can also mean that conflict may arise. With conflict, it's important to have empathy, listen, communicate, and collaborate to find a resolution.
Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
- In my past position, I was responsible for managing our order forms. I would continuously work with our design team to make edits to the forms. This process happened too frequently and was more difficult than either team would have liked. But, by having empathy for the designers, I was able to create a strong relationship with them. It opened up more candid lines of communication, so that we could more easily collaborate with each other and try to minimize edits each time.
When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
- There are times when you're working with a person that may not exhibit empathy back to you, and that can be difficult for me. It can be very difficult to show empathy back to someone that doesn't give empathy to you. Additionally, when you are pressed for time to hit a deadline, it can be a challenge to find time for empathy. In order to continue to be empathetic, I would like to start journaling and trying to understand my emotions more. In order to show empathy to others, I think it's important to remember to show empathy towards yourself. Also, I think it's important to talk about empathy in the workplace. That way, even if you're pressed for time, your company should understand the value of having empathy and human-centered design.