Beyond Coding

Engineers can get promoted to leadership positions without knowing what is expected of them. It's less of the same and more of a sidestep. Pat Kua and I discuss the tech lead and engineering manager roles and what makes a person effective being in that role. On top of that we give perspective for people interested in those positions. Enjoy! 🎙 Connect with Pat Kua: https://www.patkua.com https://tw...

A diverse work culture is what companies are striving for to gain an edge in innovation and to stand out as workplace environment. However, this is easier said than done. Priska and I explore the diversity and inclusion she's seen in the Asian work culture in comparison to the European work culture. On top of that, she shares her advice to organisations in hiring and accommodating for a diverse wo...

Mental health is often overlooked until it's too late. When that happens, it's a long way back to recovery. Stacy Cashmore shares her story involving mental health problems and how trusting people and asking for help will lead you to a better state mentally. Finding out what works for you and accommodating for yourself should not make you feel bad. It's completely healthy to look after and take ca...

First of its kind on the beyond coding podcast, an episode with just me answering your questions. Let me know if I should do more of these 💬 New episodes every Wednesday with our host  🎙Patrick Akil !   Big shoutout to  Xebia for making this episode possible! Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/Q6VJg98ERoU OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:43 - Should I go for a master's degr...

Product Leadership has always been a topic that I've found interesting and wanted to explore more of. Pair that together with the wonderful Chiedza Muguti and you have an amazing episode! 😊 She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to product, leadership, teamwork and more! Had an amazing time learning from her and I finished this episode feeling energised and inspired. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Chie...

This episode is all about coaching and leadership. If you want to get better at either of those, this is the episode for you. 🙌 Sumit shares the value of having a personal coach, how listening is a gift and how each coaching skill is also a leadership skill. My favourite learning is how he breaks down communication into different conversations. Doing so allows you to focus on which conversations...

Denise Edwards comes on to share how to find the right team, the right product, scale correctly, get funding and much more. If you've ever had thoughts of starting your own business like me, I'm sure you will love this episode. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Denise Edwards: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardsdenise https://twitter.com/deniseedwardsco https://saaslaunch.io New episodes every Wednesday with o...

“Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement them are priceless.” - Mary Kay Ash In my view, this still holds true. But how do you execute and turn an idea into a product, or even a game? This episode with Rosemary Lokhorst covers exactly that. What I admire about her is she doesn’t shy away from things she’s never done before, or things that have never been done before. Enjoy 🎙 Connect wi...

If you’ve gone on YouTube and searched how to get stuff done in web development, chances are you’ve come across Kyle Cook from web dev simplified. He’s put up an incredible catalog of videos to simplify web development, for free. What’s really cool is he started off teaching himself web development after falling in love with it. From there, his fundamental knowledge has grown through teaching othe...

Great managers are those with a people first mindset. They go through fire for their team, allow people to make mistakes and grow, and protect people from putting their work over their life and family. Nick van Meeteren is one of those people and I had an incredible time learning from his view and mindset. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Nick van Meeteren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickvanmeeteren New epis...

This episode was recorded within minutes of me meeting Shilpi & Ashish from the Cloud Security Podcast in-person. They were in Amsterdam for a conference and swung by to make this happen. 🙌 They shared a little glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of the cloud security podcast and what it’s like to work with your significant other. On top of that we discussed cloud security awareness, ch...

Podcaster and speaker Neil Thompson shares his journey with regards to public speaking and allows others to share theirs through his podcast Teach the Geek. Getting better at public speaking has more benefits that you might think. It will improve your communication skills to a point where you can influence decisions and motivate change. This is especially true in the tech world. A few of the topic...

We’ve been in an employee’s market for a while now in the tech space. The demand is far more than the supply when it comes to technical skills. And I don’t see that changing soon. Because of this, it can feel quite transactional. Automated inMails, generic messages and mismatches when it comes to hard skills. I think recruiters who do their research, tailor-fit, pinpoint why and add a personal tou...

Maximising for happiness, instead of maximising for output. That really stuck with me after my conversation with Ken Jee. When you maximise for output, you’re on a path that leads to more output, and more output until you burn out. Realising what drives you, what your personal values are and what makes happy will allow you to shift your attention to the things that matter in your life. Because lif...

CSS. In my experience developers have a love/hate relationship with it. It can be fun and rewarding to implement an awesome design. But it can also be frustrating. Kevin Powell is one of the few people I know that truly loves CSS. To the point where he’s been teaching others through his YouTube videos for the last 5 years! If you really want to become expert in something, teach it to others. Kevin...

Merlijn Boogerd shares how he’s always been fascinated by Decentralisation and Decentralised Systems. I love the Wikipedia example he gives. A group of people came together and created this system and the ability to change information is completely open and public. Decentralised in that way. It’s become one of the cornerstones in how we find information. Wikipedia is 20+ years old though… What oth...

When life gets difficult, how do you deal with it? You can’t run away. You have to keep going. How you react, recover and continue is up to you! This was one of my main takeaways from talking with Nyota Gordon. I love her energy and absolutely want what she’s having 🙌 More topics we covered, in order 💬 ☑️ Office shenanigans ☑️ What is resiliency? ☑️ Sharing experiences ☑️ From the military to cy...

Whenever I meet someone that exemplifies great tech leadership, I love picking their brain. Because there is no cookie-cutter mold for tech leaders, or leaders in general. 🍪 Their experiences, mindset, failures and feedback are incredibly valuable. Having a conversation and getting their perspective is one of the best ways to learn. And it helps form your own perspective. 🤔 My conversation with...

The way you might think about your career may evolve. A focus on growth and progression early on. More reflection, realisation and intent later. What’s interesting to me is that in the end, all your experience matters. With the right amount of guidance and clarity, you’ll eventually reach the unimaginable. That’s really exciting to me. Jeff Perry and I touch on all of that and more! A few of the t...

Why do people do the things they do? I’m not quite sure, but it’s definitely thought provoking 🤔 Especially when I think about my own decision making. Sometimes we need certain conversations, certain triggers, to make us think and reflect. This episode with Gilbert Eijkelenboom was exactly that for me. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. More of the topics we covered, in order 💬 ☑️ Gilberts...

I truly enjoyed learning from Stephanie Wong how she found her passion in technical content creation. It doesn’t just fall out of the sky and land in your lap. It takes time, experimentation and effort to take shape within your life. Throughout that journey, you’ll have key players and leadership, setting you up for success. However, in the end, you make the decisions in your personal journey. Mor...

I had a blast talking to Tobi Oluwole on self-worth, salary and mindset. What really stuck with me is that breaking limits can become more and more common. Because most of the time, when you think you’ve reached a ceiling, be it your growth, or your income, there’s no actual ceiling. The only ceiling that’s there is the one you put there yourself. Background, expectations, scepticism etc. can all...

What’s better than Online Hackathons? In-person Hackathons! Krish Naik shares how he’s been organising 24 hour long in-person hackathons together with iNeuron.ai. It’s a way to engage with the community and stimulate learning and growth. Additionally, it has been an effective way to hire. More of the topics we cover this episode, in order 💬 ☑️ The Joys of Physical Hackathons ☑️ Education should b...

Empathy is software skill. It might sound strange, but after my conversation with Andrea Goulet I strongly believe that’s the case. She explains how trust is the foundation of not only great software, but also great engineering teams. How do we build trust? Through empathy, and Andrea lays out some great practical examples of how it benefits everyone.  More of the topics we cover this episode...

What is the fastest and most effective you’ve ever been in a software team? That’s how we start off this episode and joining me is Daniel Terhorst-North who’s a coder, coach, and consultant and has been for almost 3 decades 🙌 More of the topics we cover this episode, in order 💬 ☑️ Fast and Effective Software teams ☑️ It’s not done until it’s in Production ☑️ How SOLID is outdated ☑️ Organisation...