For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
094: Humans All The Way Down with April Wensel
01:07 – April’s Superpower: Synthesizing Seemingly Unrelated Concepts to Create Something New
02:30 – Tension Between Code and Compassion
05:47 – Living According to Your Values
11:33 – Team Values and Feedback Loops
17:23 – Changing Social Makeups of Teams
22:22 – Conscious Business
32:51 – Self-Compassion and Forgiveness
40:34 – Alleviating Pain and Suffering
43:51 – Being Kind vs Being Nice
47:16 – Having Hard Conversations
51:15 – “Clever” Code
Reflections:
Sam: Capturing how zero-sum thinking works and holding compassion for yourself and other people.
John: Putting values evaluations into regular retrospectives.
April: You don’t just apply compassion in isolation. True compassion is unconditional.
Janelle: Helping to relieve quiet suffering.
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Special Guest: April Wensel.