Exploring Empathy Part 1: An introduction to the series

One of my goals for the year was to take space and time to reflect. I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to successfully work on that goal! Recently, I have been reflecting on empathy. It is one of our company values at EchoUser, and it’s not hard to make the connection as to why. Empathy is core to UX and is often discussed. I have been reflecting on how EchoUser has explicitly framed our Empathy value statement and what it encompasses:

Empathy

Our core essence. Act with integrity, respect, and self-awareness. Have this for our clients, our work, each other, and ourselves.

We had a virtual offsite last month where we engaged in several team activities based on our values. Mick, our founder and Vice President, talked about empathy, and especially the aspect of having empathy for our clients. It got me thinking.

There are situations when empathy feels easy to me and other situations when empathy is harder or doesn’t come as naturally. I wondered, in my own career and life, what’s the difference, and why is this the case? I also realized that I’ve grown my capacity for empathy over time in my career. Currently, I have also been doing a lot of personal work in the area of empathy and vulnerability. Something significant is beginning to shift within me as a part of this personal work, and I decided to write a blog post about my musings on empathy. But then my colleague Brian convinced me that there was enough here to expand into a series (thanks for the creative push, Brian!). So that’s what we’ve done. In the next few posts, Brian and I will be sharing our thoughts on empathy from the following perspectives:

• Empathy for Users
• Empathy for Clients
• Empathy for Kids (as parents)
• Empathy for Oneself

We hope you enjoy the ride and that perhaps our musings encourage you to reflect on how empathy shows up for you in your life. Where is it easy, and where is it hard for you?

Stay tuned for the next installment in our series, Empathy for Users, coming next week.

Written by Chloe Markley

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