How empathetic are you? Do you try seeing the world through other people’s eyes? How can you practice putting your own preconceived ideas aside choosing to understand the ideas, thoughts, and needs of others instead?

Empathy is the first part of Design Thinking, and as I am currently introducing this process to some groups, let me also share some ideas on empathy with you.

Start with this exercise to learn more about colleagues and to better understand their motives or decisions:

As a check-in question in a team meeting ask everyone to share one thing others might not know about them.

For example, when I was about 12 yrs old I wanted to become a horse breeder in Wyoming. As you can guess, this did not happen. However, this child(ish) dream turned into planning and realizing a highschool year in the U.S. when I was 17. Sometimes I think my wish to lead an independent life was laid right there at the age of 12.

[Photo by Julissa Helmuth on Pexels]