Empathic Design: Human-Centered Design & Design Thinking

Kelley explains that the same principle underlies all these projects — empathy.

“The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you’re trying to design for. Leadership is exactly the same thing–building empathy for the people that you’re entrusted to help,” he says.

So how does Kelley move people from junior positions into leadership roles? After relying on careful listening and intuition to hire the right people, Kelley actively develops his people in a structured way

Question: What is workplace empathy?

Dev Patnaik: Every single one of us understands what empathy is on a personal level, and that’s because we are blessed with the ability to connect with other people, right?

We’re born with this biological power to connect with other folks, to step outside of ourselves and walk in someone else’s shoes, to intuitively get where the person is coming from and get their feelings and their point of view.

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we are blessed with the ability to

connect with other people, right?

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Bill Drayton tells Global X why the largest group of social entrepreneurs who have been selected to become Ashoka Fellows (450 out of 2,400) concentrate on children and young people: "What really matters is whether children master applied empathy, and whether young people (12 to 20) master empathy teamwork leadership and become change makers" through extra-curriculum activities such as tutoring services, help hotlines or community radio stations.

"Those who don't master applied empathy will be marginalized, and if there are children who didn't have a chance to develop these skills, it's our fault, not theirs!" adds Bill Drayton.

Design thinking is a process of empathizing with the end user. Its principal guru is David Kelley, founder of IDEO and the Stanford design school, who takes a similar approach to managing people.

He believes leadership is a matter of empathizing with employees. In this interview, he explains why leaders should seek understanding rather than blind obedience, why it's better to be a coach and a taskmaster and why you can't teach leadership with a PowerPoint presentation.

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He believes leadership is a matter of

empathizing with employees

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