vaidashi/gist:d0c5c9e0179924858ba432feda65cf90

## gistfile1.txt
What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
---Empathy towards others has helped me in analyzing my own personality traits. It allows for me to better understand areas of strength and also flaws which I could improve upon.

How does empathy help you build better software?
---It allows developers to create products/experiences that are more effective and well received by the potential end-user. Companies that have this mind-set from the beginning are considerably more successful than their competitors who don't.

Why is empathy important for working on a team?
---In order to have a cohesive and well organized team that can effectively deliver results, it's incredibly important for each team member to have a sense of humility and understanding that the purpose of a team is not individual benefit necessarily, but rather a collective benefit and recognition. Individuals that are empathetic will put their own ego aside and help other team members when needed. This will foster a better working environment and lead to productive and highly skilled teams.

Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
---I had a colleague whose husband would often work late. She would make it a point to leave the office as close to 5pm as she could in order to pick up her child from day care. For the vast majority of the time she was able to make her goal, but on certain occassions when she was handling a big project or dealing with numerous client issues, she would be a little late. During these times, I would mostly be in a good position to offer her help with any tasks she might need assistance on that could allow her to leave on time. It was a minor thing, but she appreciated the gesture and this in turn created a greater working relationship between us where we knew in our small office environment that we could both depend on each other if needed. Each of us valued this since our office environment at the time contained other colleagues who were not has helpful.

When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
---It's always challenging to be enmpathetic towards others who may not be as considerate. There are usually 3 options people do in response to this: confront the other individual, ignore the other individual as much as possible, or continue to be empathetic and reasonably work out a mutually beneficial situation. Personally from my own experiences, I have leaned more towards the first and second responses, but I should and need to focus on the third for my own professional development.
	What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
	---Empathy towards others has helped me in analyzing my own personality traits. It allows for me to better understand areas of strength and also flaws which I could improve upon.

	How does empathy help you build better software?
	---It allows developers to create products/experiences that are more effective and well received by the potential end-user. Companies that have this mind-set from the beginning are considerably more successful than their competitors who don't.

	Why is empathy important for working on a team?
	---In order to have a cohesive and well organized team that can effectively deliver results, it's incredibly important for each team member to have a sense of humility and understanding that the purpose of a team is not individual benefit necessarily, but rather a collective benefit and recognition. Individuals that are empathetic will put their own ego aside and help other team members when needed. This will foster a better working environment and lead to productive and highly skilled teams.

	Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
	---I had a colleague whose husband would often work late. She would make it a point to leave the office as close to 5pm as she could in order to pick up her child from day care. For the vast majority of the time she was able to make her goal, but on certain occassions when she was handling a big project or dealing with numerous client issues, she would be a little late. During these times, I would mostly be in a good position to offer her help with any tasks she might need assistance on that could allow her to leave on time. It was a minor thing, but she appreciated the gesture and this in turn created a greater working relationship between us where we knew in our small office environment that we could both depend on each other if needed. Each of us valued this since our office environment at the time contained other colleagues who were not has helpful.

	When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
	---It's always challenging to be enmpathetic towards others who may not be as considerate. There are usually 3 options people do in response to this: confront the other individual, ignore the other individual as much as possible, or continue to be empathetic and reasonably work out a mutually beneficial situation. Personally from my own experiences, I have leaned more towards the first and second responses, but I should and need to focus on the third for my own professional development.