Empathy In Business

vs. callousness

Sensing the emotions of others

To practice Empathy, I will:

See things from the point of view of others.
Imagine how I would feel in the situation of others.
Assume the best reasons for others’ actions.
Look for common traits with others.
Appreciate the differences of others.

Empathy at Work

At the end of my career, I worked in a small IT department where we all wore several hats and shared responsibilities for the help desk. When answering help desk calls, I tried to match my solutions to the person asking for help. Some people just wanted the problem to go away, and others wanted to know what caused it or how to prevent it from happening again. I used my Empathy to discover ‘who’ was asking for help so I could answer them appropriately.

Collectively, I also tried to sense if there was a deeper need than just a one-time help call. When I sensed a pattern, I would design training to address it. I would also need Empathy in developing the class by thinking like the user rather than the IT professional. Empathy also helped me decide how to deliver the instruction. If it was simple, it was sent to all employees in an email newsletter. If it was something that someone would be embarrassed to sign up for (What do you mean you don’t know how to schedule a conference room?), I recorded a video they could view on demand privately. It became an in-person class if I felt people would have questions and appreciate a chance to discuss the material. If I didn’t take the time to sense the employees’ feelings, my training could miss the goal.

How can you use Empathy to influence your projects?