Module 0 Capstone - Gear Up Assignment

gear_up.md

Gear Up Pre-Work Empathy Reflection

Articles/video read include:

• "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)

1. What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?

• Empathy has played a huge part in my life, both personally and professionally. I have always been very empathetic, to the point where I let it control me. However, spending the majority of my professional career in customer facing roles has taught me the importance of being empathetic, but being mindful of the situation to make sure I don’t fall into empathy fatigue.
• Empathy has allowed me to connect with so many different people, and through that process learn a new perspective, thought pattern, or behavior that I may have never known about if I had not taken the time to really listen and get to know them. These connections not only help my understanding of the world, but professionally help me better understand those that I work with and how to effectively work together as a team.

2. How does empathy help you build better software?

• Being empathetic enhances your ability to receive information. The more information that we are able to receive as software developers, the better we can create products that are solving problems for a wider variety of individuals, not just those that think, behave, and act like us. By understanding others better, we are able to reframe problems and see them through a different lens and ultimately come up with better solutions.
• Overall, it helps to build better software because it helps us build connections with each other on a human level. These connections are essential to the core of who humans are, and needs to be present in our minds as we build software. Even though we are talking to computers, we are using a tool to express ideas that touch and are consumed by humans. As we build products we need to be able to move past the computer we are talking to, and imagine the human that will be using the product. How will they use it? What could help make this experience more efficient or effective? Empathy helps with this process.

3. Why is empathy important for working on a team?

• Being able to understand others and share their feelings is instrumental in being able to work effectively as a team. This is because your ability to communicate better across a variety of individuals becomes more streamlined as everyone has a deeper understanding to those around them.
• Additionally, having self-awareness helps you be more empathetic. This self-awareness is especially helpful in team situations, because you may seem someone struggling with something you have struggled with yourself. You know what it felt like to be in that situation, so you are equipped to reach out and help them navigate the issue in a way that feels genuine because you really know what it’s like to struggle through X.
• I have found this to also be helpful with feedback in a team setting. I believe that a team’s feedback culture is most effective when the team is exhibiting a high level of empathy, because the feedback is able to be delivered in a way that is very understanding of the other person’s perspective. Individuals are also able to more readily implement this feedback because it was given to them in a constructive and effective manner.

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

• My most recent role prior to Turing was leading “large scale issue” management and resolution. This meant that whenever there was an issue, either due to human error or a systematic error on our end or with a third party agency, I was responsible for managing the research and resolution efforts. It was always difficult when the error was caused by a simple human error by a member of the company because I felt so deeply for them. Being able to be empathetic with them in these situations was extremely helpful in the resolution process, because we were all working together to identify the error, figure out how to fix it as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and make sure it didn’t happen again. I was always extremely careful to not place blame because I knew that was not that person’s intent, nor would that lead to a productive future and growth for the individual, team, and company.

5. 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 remain empathetic in a professional setting when the other person isn’t as open to working together to come up with a solution. In these situations I find myself getting frustrated, but I think what has helped in these situations in the past is being open in my communication with the other person. Even if they aren’t as willing to be as open or communicative, I know that at least if I bring that to the table I am showing my willingness to be there and work with them. Sometimes it can take others more time to reach that point, and some may never change their attitude, but I know that I am only in control of myself so instead of allowing myself to get frustrated I need to remind myself of this and be sure to do my best and be there for them.