Turing Pre-Work: Task C

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Turing Pre-work: Task C

What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
-I'm actually happy to be exposed to this content as empathy has been somewhat of a difficult subject for me. I do my best to empathize with individuals situations that arise in my life, but at times I fail. It's something I've been focusing on improving for the past several months, and I'm making progress.

-Empathy has helped me in resolving individual conflicts in my life. This isn't just conflicts I'm a part of but others also when it's necessary to mitigate conflict as a 3rd party. This was particularly beneficial in my previous career in healthcare in my dealings with patients as well as co-workers.
How does empathy help you build better software?
-While taking a problem and cranking out a solution can work, it will not always yield the best possible solution. Investigating from the perspective of the end user and taking time to understand what the need/want is will aid greatly in coming to a solution that meets and exceeds expectations.

-The interaction with the end user in particular can also help, I think, in preventing burnout. If a person is confined only to staring at a screen and solving problems, it strikes me that burnout can and does happen. Engagement with the end user can add more meaning to the assignment and lead to greater satisfaction with its completion.

Why is empathy important for working on a team?
-Experiencing conflict when working with teammates is inevitable. Empathizing with teammates in times of conflict allows for resolution more quickly. Utilizing empathy in the face of conflict will also aid in establishing better working relationships among teammates. In the short-term this allows for project goals to be met more efficiently. In the long term this will allow for easier future collaboration and improved workplace happiness.

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

My partner and I had a tenuous relationship at one time. My partner was constantly under stress and felt the need to vent that out onto me. This was fairly poor for me as it meant constantly being surrounded by a significant amount of negativity. I didn't handle our partnership that well initially and worried it would fail. I began listening more intent and responding in like. In doing so, we found common ground in several avenues of our lives. Rather quickly we moved past continually talking about all the bad to a point where we spent most of our shifts joking around with each other. We've shared many conversations about the problems in each others lives and still turn to the other for an ear when something is rough.
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 difficult to be empathetic during a prolonged conflict and when a party is unwilling to engage in an active dialogue. As far as prolonged conflict, I've improved my skills significantly by taking a proactive approach. If something is starting to brew, I'll bring it up tactfully to be addressed and resolved. When there is a party in a conflict that will not communicate, it is very difficult for me. I'm working on developing my patience particular to this area as well as developing my ability to communicate openly and honestly as I've at times been the party who is closed off.