Gear Up Day 1

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

  * Empathy was something very difficult for me to understand coming from a military background because there was so much focus on pushing and finishing the task at hand without regard for our own well-being. Our mantra was mission accomplishment before troop welfare so I felt that feelings and personal relationships weren’t as important as accomplishing your goals. I learned after leaving the military that it is very difficult to accomplish those goals as a team if you do not take the time to learn about other members of the team and see what drives them and what their weak points are. The mentality that you’ll just drag that individual along isn’t healthy in the long term for that person. Everyone in your team has their own personal reasons for being in a career, the city that they live in, and the personality that they have and I now believe that it is vital for us to take the time to put ourselves in their shoes. Working in customer service now, it would be easy for me to just do the bare minimum and move the customer along. Yet, I enjoy actually taking the time to see what exactly is the issue with that particular customer and see if there is any way I can assist them. I have worked as security at hotels and casinos the last few years and it would bother me to see someone not try to assist, because I always think about how I would feel in that same particular circumstance. When you take the time to problem solve and be empathetic to the guest, they may appreciate your effort, even if you weren’t able to actually help them.

2. How does empathy help you build better software?

  * Empathy builds better software due to the connections you build with the customers. When you are more in tune with what that customer’s needs, you will have a better chance of creating something of quality. I believe when a company loses touch with their customers, they begin to lose touch with the purpose of the company. The purpose of a company is to provide the customer with the best version of that product and to make that customer satisfied with the product. I think it would be very difficult to do that if you were not empathetic to the customer.

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

  * If you do not care about your team members then you will probably have difficulty working with them. That leaves room for animosity and that would create a difficult work environment. The more you care and are open to the idea of helping each other, the better your team will work together. Just like in a personal relationship, you have to put the effort into it to get something worthwhile out of it.

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

  * In a recent situation, a colleague of mine did something that would be considered “against the rules.” With us being peers, I decided that it wasn’t my place to scold him like our boss would. It wasn’t a fireable offense, so I decided to approach him on the issue. I asked if he would mind telling me about the event and I stated that in my experience and to my knowledge, what he did was something that he shouldn’t have done. I chose my wording carefully, but he did still seemed upset and defensive. I asked if I could explain myself. I told him that I understood his mistake but that I was just trying to talk to him because I cared and would not want him to be reprimanded for the event. He became less defensive, and understood my standpoint. I felt that if I just told my boss, though a small mistake, it would affect our team chemistry. We decided it was something that should be let known, but that together, we figured out the best way to handle that same situation had it ever happened again. I’ve seen how other coworkers get very aggressive and angry and judgmental to the other team member for making a mistake and I made it a point to not address the problem like that. I instead, wanted to discuss and explain that there was a better way to handle that situation and we still maintained the appropriate team chemistry that I feel is vital.

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 feel it is difficult to emphasize with someone who isn't being empathetic. If you are trying to figure out how to solve an issue and your team member is being difficult, it can make the situation seem impossible. I’ve learned to try to be as neutral as possible. I’ll try to listen and not to interrupt when they speak, and see if we can reach some sort of compromise. In customer service, it easy to learn how to take that step back and analyze the situation and try to approach it in a positive manner. I try to use that same mentality when working with others, especially difficult people.