What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
I consider my upbringing very different than most of my peers. My home was very much middle class, and both of my parents graduated from college. I think I was disconnected from my friends in that way and I had very little experience. There is kind of a blanket idea of what it means to grow up black, and while all of the experiences differ, there are certain things I believe all of my friends went through. I didn't have to. I am grateful for that, but I got to expierience many of the things my friends did as a young adult. Homelessness, charity baskets to eat, working not for myself but for my family. I was inserted into their shoes, my version of course, but I lived part of that blanket black experience. I never had any interactions with the police until I went through my struggles. Its not as if I had no empathy for the struggles of black people in America, but looking those problems in the eye made me want to actually change things. I empathized with my friends, but now I understand them actually, and I want to change the blanket experience to a better one.
How does empathy help you build better software?
Collaboration is going to a key to success in software development. It allows a developer to work with others and make things more effectively and efficiently. It also serves as a communication medium between companies and their existing or potential customers. I hadn't considered until reading the articles how important it was to relate to the people you are selling something to. Or, to actually understand the needs of a person who is buying your product. Often times people buy things because it is the best fit in relation to other products, but there is still a gap compared to what people actually need. Finally it offers companies and buyers the ability to be responsible with their product. They will have the ability to see what they are getting from seed to store and know whether or not the product was beneficial or detrimental to the people involved in its cultivation.
Why is empathy important for working on a team?
It allows all ideas to be considered. I think the majority of people if not all people have the desire to be the hero at some point in their lives. They have a secret, or not so sercet desire to be the one who creates the next big thing, or wins the big game, or are the big thing. When you empathize in a team setting you kind of remove the desire to be the hero and replac e it ith the idea that the team is most important. Stalls and selays in progress can occur when we ignore the ideas of one.
Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
Most recently the GM at the bar I was working at was having a hard time. We lacked the resources to be successful, which would have come from the top, but it was always reflected on her. She is who we took our frusterations out on. She was capable and bright but as a team we often missed those qualities because of the poor work environment. She had the potential to lead, but it ended up as a boss employee for most of us. Really i just tried to ask her about herself, or her day when I could, maybe give her a chance to decompress on something un work related. And when I had the opportunity, I lacked the technical skill to take some of the load off her plate, but I asked to help, she never had the time to teach, but she appreciated the offer. Another time, was while in college, my teammates struggled with writing papers. My first question was how they got to college, my next question was what happened in their lives that made it so they couldn't write papers. After taking a step back, I just offered to help whenever they needed and I had time, because their success immedietly was more important than me questioning the system.
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 when I experience customers who cannot empathize. Then I kind of lose my empathy. Like at the bar when people are rude because we're busy and taking longer than they would like. I think to myself, haven't you ever been swamped at work, or have you ever dealt with an impatient customer. But then I think, that may be the whole reason they're so desperate for a drink. Communication bridges that gap a lot of the time, just telling someone you see them and you'll be there shortly is an amazing peace maker. i can emphasize a smile in difficult situations, and listening to their needs.