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)
077: Creating Space to Shine with Anjuan Simmons
RubyConf 2017: Lending Privilege by Anjuan Simmons
01:18 – Anjuan’s Superpower: Flexibility
04:55 – Cultivating Variety on Teams
08:22 – What makes a great team?
13:46 – Empowering Others
19:21 – Culture Fit
21:24 – The Tension Between Structure and Agency
24:35 – Creating Space for People to Shine
33:46 – Responses to “Weirdness”
38:27 – Building Constructive and Authentic Relationships with People
41:12 – Having Visible Differences on Teams
43:53 – “Othering”
49:29 – Earning Trust by Listening to People
Reflections:
Sam: Safety can improve teams and lead to wonderful harmonies.
Rein: Building caring and genuine relationships with other people and valuing them for who they are.
Janelle: Getting to know people and giving them space to take off their masks to be their unique selves.
Anjuan: Safety is a foundational aspect of life.
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Special Guest: Anjuan Simmons.
Sponsored By:
- O'Reilly Media: Support for the Greater Than Code podcast comes from O’Reilly Fluent and Velocity conferences. Taking place in San Jose, California, June 11-14, it’s the best place to get the latest in software development, performance, operations, resilience, and so much more. Early Price ends next Friday, May 4th. Register with code GTC20 to save up to $599 on your pass! Learn more at http://oreil.ly/2o07Ufw. Promo Code: GTC20