Those of us who have worked in software development for longer than a few years probably feel we have an intuitive sense of what a great developer is. Some traits come more easily to mind than others when it comes to identifying a great developer. In this talk we will take a slightly different approach to evaluating software development best practices, and identify one underrated skill common to great software developers: empathy. I hope to demonstrate that cognitive and emotional empathy skills are critical to good software development. We will explore ways to cultivate this trait in order to become better developers, both for our own sakes and for the sake of the teams in which we work.