Empathy has been a driving force in my life. When I worked at Chick-Fil-A, it was important to me that we always listened to even the newest team members, and my boss held that belief as well. Ten thousand people have the same amount of opinions, and most opinions can help improve aspects of a business. Prior to that, I was always the "friend to everyone" in high school. I spent my time in groups and with people most others decided weren't worth the effort. They all had fascinating stories, and I learned so much from each of them.
Empathy helps you build better software because you have a better understanding of both your team and your audience. Effectively communicating with and understanding your team is a massive efficiency and morale boost. Even when you don't always agree with your team, understanding their point of view allows for better conflict resolution. When developing a product, it's also vital you understand the audience to which you're presenting it. The audience notices if you don't have empathy and aren't listening to their desires or concerns, and several companies have even recently made that mistake.
Empathy, in short, makes everything easier. It promotes healthy and effective communication between teammates. It fosters a strong sense of solidarity, and it helps with conflict resolution. The more you understand someone's circumstances, the more willing you are to accommodate for them. People also give more grace to mistakes when they know the person who made them. Finally, encouragement goes a long way, and you're more likely to genuinely encourage people when you have empathy for them and they feel you understand them.
There has never been a situation in which empathizing with a colleague was not helpful. At Chick-Fil-A, I had taken over inventory management, and the first things I started moving around were the things people had trouble lifting or reaching. A lot of these were placed on higher shelves, so I created a better system where heavier things and things grabbed several times a day were lower on the shelves. People started doing better and were happier because of that change because they felt like the management cared about their problems.
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 other people disrespect what I believe. I tend to get irritable or defensive because they discount my opinion simply because they disagree with it. It makes it harder to work with them in the future. I can improve by understanding not everyone communicates well or is kind. Understanding why they think that may improve how I communicate with them in the future.