On Empathy
Read two of the following articles/videos (we recommend all of them!) and reflect on these questions: why are we talking about empathy at a software development school? how can you develop the "skill" of empathy? and why should you care?
After reading the articles above, create a gist on Github and reflect (4-6 sentences) on the following prompts.
Amusing anecdotes aside, when I look back major decision points in my life, they often revolve, novel-like, empathetic connection. They "say it's not what you know but who you know." I know-- I've heard them say it. Being empathic to someone's pain, be it an especially voluble person on the bus, or somebody just trying to do their job (at the airport...on the holidays), and reminding yourself that nobody has it easy. For some reason this affects people.
If the front end team and the back end team have a strong relationship, they can collaborate to anticipate and circumvent problems down the road.
One way that Japanese companies try to continuously improve is by rotating employees.Two years in this department, then a few years in that one. This pays out in the long run with Employees having a better idea not just what one department does, but crucially, how that department depends on others and how it is depended upon. Empathy without understanding is just sympathy.
My colleague Thomas and I were both new to the Japanese language, and to Japan. Our struggles learning another language let us empathize with students. That is-- understanding what the 'error' means, which has to do with a whole range of factors off the page. When Thomas and I discovered Anki (its a flashcard tool, ask me about it) we became passionate about its use in the classroom because we so strongly empathized with our students struggling to memorize pages of vocabulary words. We were passionate because we had been there.
When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
Yikes. I had a kid cheating in one of my classes once, star athlete no less. It was difficult to empathize with. But he wasn't very good at English. All he really knew was baseball. I could understand that he didn't want to learn English. I struggled to understand why he wouldn't let others enjoy learning. He seemed to be actively undermining other student's ability to take English seriously, or even enjoy it. I didn't have many situations like that, but they were among the most difficult empathetic engagements I've ever had. I improved by developing a steely reserve in the face of slacking, a healthy tolerance for good-natured tomfoolery, and by never treating them with less than a fundamental respect.