Advertisement
Guest User

Untitled

a guest
Jul 20th, 2017
91
0
Never
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 3.59 KB | None | 0 0
  1. # Task C: Response to Articles on Empathy
  2.  
  3. ## What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
  4.  
  5. As someone that spent 6 years planning to pursue a medical profession, I’ve had to think about empathy a lot. One of the aspects of my life where empathy had the most impact was when I was working for CVS Pharmacy. In pharmacy, angry customers are common. However, the most important thing to remember is that they are there for medication and that likely means something is not right for them. Once you understand that some people are in excruciating pain, just left the doctor’s after an undesirable diagnosis or are perhaps worried about their sick child, it becomes easier to avoid anger yourself. In thinking like this, I’ve been able to go into conversations with confrontational customers and come out with them thanking me or apologizing for their earlier behavior which was “not like them.”
  6.  
  7. ## How does empathy help you build better software?
  8.  
  9. The article ‘Why is Empathy Important for Design’ really delves into how empathy aids in product development. With my anxiety, I can relate to turning preconceived notions on their heads. When I am experiencing high levels of anxiety, I often have difficulty making phone calls to schedule an appointment with a therapist. Unfortunately, this is usually when I need it most. While having a mental health clinic is useful, the clinic itself may be less useful if the patients themselves have difficulty scheduling appointments.
  10.  
  11. ## Why is empathy important for working on a team?
  12.  
  13. Empathy is important in teamwork as it enhances a team’s ability to communicate ideas. In ‘The Surprising (and Non-Technical Skill) You Need to Succeed in Tech’, the ideas of self-awareness, feedback giving and active listening are discussed. Empathy aids in all of these because it allows you to look beyond your own world-view and consider how others will perceive your words and actions. You can then give productive feedback without giving offense or tip-toeing around issues and your colleagues will appreciate feeling included in the conversation rather than passed over.
  14.  
  15. ## Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
  16.  
  17. I’m going to turn this question around a bit and focus on when a teammate was able to empathize with me. When I started having issues with depression and anxiety, I had an instance where I missed work and panicked when I tried to call in. Once I had calmed down a bit, I sent an email explaining the situation. My supervisor was very understanding and it was because of this that I found the courage to return to work. My gratitude made me want to work as hard as I could under that supervisor. I believe that the loyalty I felt towards my job improved my work and that my supervisor benefitted much more from his show of empathy than if he had decided to simply lecture me and shame me for the missed shift.
  18.  
  19. ## When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
  20.  
  21. The harder I find it to relate to someone, the harder it is for me to empathize with someone. This is made even more difficult when I myself am already having a difficult or emotional moment. I find that the best ways to improve my empathetic response is to:
  22.  
  23. (1) be conscious of my own bias and actively try to examine the other person’s point-of-view and
  24.  
  25. (2) put myself in these situations where I might not understand the other side and continue to try to experience a spectrum of the emotions and perspectives that drive people’s motivations and behaviors.
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement