Two-way collaborative empathy

This observation from John Gruber at Daring Fireball lives in my head rent free:

One thing I learned long ago is that people who prioritize design, UI, and UX in the software they prefer can empathize with and understand the choices made by people who prioritize other factors […]. But it doesn’t work the other way: most people who prioritize other things can’t fathom why anyone cares deeply about design/UI/UX because they don’t perceive it.

I worry about this a lot when working with new people and teams. Is this especially germane to designers because designers have traditionally been put in arranged marriage situations? I know I’ve been dropped into those environments where they are now paired with people who “don’t perceive” the value of design, understanding users, making thing good, etc. Which then just leads to terrible collaboration, etc.