Designers often associate empathy with just their product's users, when it should be utilized globally with all persons they interact with, specifically pod mates. Sometimes it can be a combative and tense relationship with our pod mates, constantly battling over product decisions. Designers take offense easily when they're contested, leading down a path of resentment and possibly negative energies, impacting the quality of work and their relationships with the people that are in much control over what they're building. Most pod mates have their own challenges that they are dealing with, and designers may not fully give the time nor compassion to understand.
To build trust and synergy, empathize with pod mates. Taking a user research approach on pod mates will enrich product success and team dynamic.
Here's some actions you can take to empathize with your pod mates.
Interview pod mates
Get a deep understanding of pod mate jobs.
What are your KPIs and ROIs?
When and why do you need this?
How can I help you achieve your goals?
What are your challenges?
Synthesize goals
Define product strategy, align goals, and prioritize tasks.
Contribute to pod mate goals
Define, execute, and map your goals to pod mate goals.
As a designer, I will (your goal), in order to achieve (pod mate goals).
Be flexible and understanding
Collaborate with pod mates when technical implications, scope creep, and reprioritizations occur.
What are our alternatives?
What can we build now to help you achieve your goals?
That's a great idea, let's do that!
Provide continuous support
Be attentive to pod mate needs by providing outputs and answer promptly when requested.
Quick viable solutions and decision making
Design artifacts and assets
User insights and validations
Edge case and error handling
Speak positively with opportunity
Recognize pod mate efforts, suggestions, and successes. Be positively constructive when feedback is given.
Excellent work on (job). That was no easy task. Let's collaborate to solve (use case).
That's a great idea! Let's validate (pod mate suggestion) with our users.
Summary
Being empathic to pod mates proves that you are empathic to your users
Being nonnegotiable and combative will urge pod mates to solve problems without you
Compassion will make you approachable and easy to work with
Empathy spreads, giving empathy = receiving empathy, pod mates will ensure you are successful in return and want to help you
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