Page 11 - Demo

Empathy:
What We Give & What We Get
Danielle Parker
Instructional Designer, Field Development Penn Mutual
As learning and development professionals, so much of what we do revolves around empathy. We’re really in the empathy business. But it’s not just about the empathy we give: it’s about the empathy we get. It’s natural for us to think in terms of having empathy – for our learners, for our sponsors, and for our subject matter experts (SMEs). How often do we find ourselves thinking back to what it felt like to be the “new person” when we’re developing onboarding training? What about relating to all those pain points we’re trying to resolve for employees?
We have empathy for our learners when they are being stretched outside of their comfort zones. We have empathy for our sponsors when they relate how much their associates need training to meet an important objective. We have empathy for our SMEs when they describe how much they are impacted by a skills gap. In short, we have empathy in spades!
The nature of our roles helps us cultivate empathy without us even realizing it. One practical tip suggested by experts to develop the power of empathy is to take the time to learn about other people’s stories. That’s something many learning and development professionals are fortunate to do almost daily. We also routinely listen more than we speak, learn news skills, and envision what it’s like to walk in our learners’ shoes: all activities that naturally build empathy.
Knowing we’re attuned to showing empathy for others, when do we take time to think about the empathy we’re receiving? How often does a project sponsor take the extra few minutes to dig into the real need? Think about all the times that a SME patiently answers “just one more question” as we are working to nail down a process. I like to think that the empathy I show to my SMEs and sponsors lays the foundation of trust that is crucial for reaping the benefits of an effective team. Given a safe space, they return empathy in kind, so the empathy comes full circle. Even learners who we may never meet show us empathy when they provide constructive feedback in a course survey. It’s a virtuous cycle, really, and I’m so grateful to be in the empathy business!
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