###What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
I feel that having empathy has helped me have deeper relationships with others. Empathy has allowed for me to forgive and connect with others from a deeper and more vulnerable place. Empathy has allowed be to be vulnerable and present with others.Empathy plays a large part in my life as want to base my interactions from a place of empathy and helpfulness. Empathy has given me the thought process that we are all human doing the best we can which affects the way I interact and think about others.
###How does empathy help you build better software?
Empathy helps us build better software as it allows for developers to understand the users of a product and understand the uses of a product. This helps us build better software as the software we build is built with people in mind and not just the outcome in mind. In having people in mind developers build software that is easy to use and enriches the lives of others. Without empathy software would be difficult for users to understand and use and could possible make it impossible for some users to use.
###Why is empathy important for working on a team?
Empathy is important for working on a team in many ways. In my opinion empathy is what holds team members accountable. If team members all understand how their actions and commitments effect the team as a whole everyone feels more accountable and motivated to get their part done. Empathy also is important for working in a team as it allows for teammates to support one another as humans creating a stronger environment. Empathy also teammates to identify and support one another through their struggles.If someone is not doing as well empathy is what allows teammates to band together to support them in their struggle.
###Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
In every professional situation I have been in my ability to empathize and support my colleagues through any struggle they might have has been helpful. As a waiter when other staff members were struggling to keep up I could empathize and help out any way I could in order to make their jobs easier. This allowed for my teammates to feel a little relief, the customers to feel better about the service. This empathy was also reciprocated when I was struggling to keep up with demands making my job easier.
###When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
In my experience laziness/apathy is the hardest thing to empathize with. If someone is going through struggle and it is effecting their work I have no trouble empathizing with them and supporting them. But if someone is dropping the ball on a team due to what I feel is pure laziness I have trouble empathizing. I feel I can improve my skills in scenarios like these by understanding how I initially perceive a situation my not be true. What I initially perceive as laziness be someone dealing with someone they are having trouble expressing. That could be burnout,depression,the numbing of trauma or a multitude of other issues. For me to improve I need to understand I can't judge someones actions as lazy as I am not seeing the whole picture and not everyone is comfortable sharing the full picture. It's important for me to empathize even if I don't understand.