Directions: Submit your Gear Up Pre-Work reflections on the pre-work google doc.
Our mission is to unlock human potential by training a diverse, inclusive student body to succeed in high-fulfillment technical careers.
- Interpersonal skills (including empathy) have a direct, significant impact on your professional success.
- Empathy is a foundational interpersonal skill. Other skills, such as collaboration, communication, compromise all hinge on your ability to demonstrate empathy.
- Interpersonal skills, including empathy, can be developed and improved.
- Turing's mission (cited above) demands that we support students development of technical and interpersonal skills.
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?
- "Why is Empathy Important for Design"
- "The Surprising (Nontechnical) Skill You Need to Succeed in Tech", The Muse
- "Why Aren't We More Compassionate?", TED Talk (Daniel Goleman)
- "Can you teach people to have empathy?", BBC (Jun 29, 2015)
- "Three Kinds of Empathy", Daniel Goleman
- "The Importance of Empathy in Our Services-Centric, People-Oriented Economy", Wall Street Journal Blog (Oct 9, 2015)
After reading the articles above, create a gist on Github and reflect (4-6 sentences) on the following prompts.
- What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
- I have found that empathy has helped me in a number of ways. It has allowed me to get closer to the people I care about in my life, and to build closer connections through understanding their experience. It has helped me navigate conflict in an effective way, as we do not end up talking past each other. And when you have that sort of openness and understanding, you can have open effective disagreements without hostility, which helps in self-reflection as you recieve a range of perspectives, rather than your own preconceptions.
- How does empathy help you build better software?
- Software at the end of the day is meant to be designed for an end user. If we go creating software without consideration of that user, we end up with programs fit for no-one, that often aren't achieving what they set out to achieve. The best way we can design something that will really resonate with a user, is to understand their thoughts and perspectives and concerns. It creates a win-win situation.
- Why is empathy important for working on a team?
- I think empathy is an important aspect of being an effective coworker. Through being more empathetic you can truly ensure you're on the same page with a teammate, this provides a variety of perspectives and ideas. Focusing on that human aspect creates a more honest work environment, in which the human element is addressed rather than overlooked. People can feel more comfortable, which allows people to be more open, and encourages flow and creativity.
- Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
- In my previous role I was a manager. I found that in being empathetic with my employees had a wide range of benefits. It helped determine which work they were best suited for, or most enjoyed, which helped productivity. That also kept them engaged and we could openly discuss times when they were frustrated or struggling with certain assignments. This open dialogue I found built an environment of trust and cooperation that was helpful if things ever got hard.
- 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 have teammates who are difficult to work with. They may be standoffish or selfish. As such they may not consider the implications of their actions or decisions as they pertain to the whole team. I've found in these situations, continued empathy is even more important. In truly understanding their concerns it allows them to feel heard, and as a result they may be less defensive, as you can relate their experience to that of the team.