1.
CATALYTIC SKILLS FOR
DEVELOPERS
April Wensel
Founder of Compassionate Coding
THERE’S NOTHING “SOFT” ABOUT THESE SKILLS
@APRILWENSEL

2.
THERE’S A LOT OF
SUFFERING IN THE
SOFTWARE INDUSTRY
@APRILWENSEL

3.
STRESS &
ANXIETY
@APRILWENSEL

4.
BURNOUT
@APRILWENSEL
https://medium.com/compassionate-coding/only-you-
can-prevent-tech-burnout-be3f0504c627

5.
@APRILWENSEL
POOR USER
EXPERIENCE
@APRILWENSEL

6.
@APRILWENSEL
WHY SOFTWARE PROJECTS FAIL
17%
21%
22%
23%
32%
37%
40%
48% Changing or poorly documented requirements
Underfunding or under-resourcing
Poor team or organizational management
Insufficient time allocated to testing
Developer churn and loss of key talent
Missed delivery timeline expectations
Time constraints and pre-mature software release
Immature dev tools & application platforms
https://www.developersalliance.org/developer-insights-report-2015/

7.
@APRILWENSEL
WE DON’T CARE ENOUGH
ABOUT HUMANS

8.
“CONFESSIONS
OF A RECOVERING
JERK PROGRAMMER”
@APRILWENSEL
https://medium.com/compassionate-coding/confessions-of-a-
recovering-jerk-programmer-b9d531a05ea9

9.
VEGANISM TAUGHT
ME ABOUT
COMPASSION

10.
@APRILWENSEL
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vertical-diner-salt-lake-city?select=hp6M3WR9aTgvK33aNlaERg

11.
“THE FEELING THAT ARISES WHEN YOU
ARE CONFRONTED WITH ANOTHER’S
SUFFERING AND FEEL MOTIVATED TO
RELIEVE THAT SUFFERING”
@APRILWENSEL https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/compassion/definition
COMPASSION

12.
COMPASSIONATE
CODING
@APRILWENSEL

13.
“SOFT” SKILLS
@APRILWENSEL

14.
• SIGN OF WEAKNESS
• LESS IMPORTANT THAN “HARD” SKILLS
•JUST FOR MANAGERS
• SUGARCOATING
• BEING FAKE
• WOMEN’S WORK
• MANIPULATIVE
• PLAYING POLITICS
“SOFT” SKILLS
@APRILWENSEL

15.
STOP CALLING
THEM “SOFT”
SKILLS
@APRILWENSEL

16.
@APRILWENSEL
CATALYTIC SKILLS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k
Daniel Goleman

17.
@APRILWENSEL
“AN AGENT THAT PROVOKES
OR SPEEDS SIGNIFICANT
CHANGE OR ACTION”
CATALYST
https://www.flickr.com/photos/katerha/5703151566
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catalyst

18.
CATALYTIC SKILLS
@APRILWENSEL
the fundamental human skills that
help us acquire other skills and
engage more effectively with the
world

19.
EXAMPLE: JAVASCRIPT IS A SKILL.
THE CATALYTIC SKILLS OF FOCUS
AND PERSISTENCE WILL HELP YOU
ACQUIRE THIS SKILL FASTER.
@APRILWENSEL

20.
EXAMPLE: SPEAKING AND LISTENING
ARE SKILLS.
THE CATALYTIC SKILL OF EMPATHY WILL
HELP YOU USE THESE SKILLS TO
RESOLVE CONFLICTS MORE EFFECTIVELY.
@APRILWENSEL

21.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/
@APRILWENSEL

22.
A TALE OF TWO DEVELOPERS
@APRILWENSEL

23.
“ROCKSTAR”
@APRILWENSEL

24.
CATALYST
@APRILWENSEL

25.
@APRILWENSEL
MORNING

26.
@APRILWENSEL
https://www.flickr.com/photos/140879799@N02/27189805891/
@APRILWENSEL
WAKING UP

27.
@APRILWENSEL
WAKING UP

28.
SELF-AWARENESS
SELF-MANAGEMENT
OPTIMISM
MOTIVATION
@APRILWENSEL

29.
ARRIVING AT WORK

30.
@APRILWENSEL@APRILWENSEL ARRIVING AT WORK

31.
SELF-AWARENESS
INITIATIVE
FOCUS
@APRILWENSEL

32.
MORNING MEETING

33.
MORNING MEETING

34.
SOCIAL AWARENESS
EMPATHY
PRESENCE
@APRILWENSEL

35.
FEATURE WORK

36.
FEATURE WORK

37.
FEATURE WORK

38.
SOCIAL AWARENESS
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
EMPATHY
@APRILWENSEL

39.
@APRILWENSEL
AFTERNOON

40.
@APRILWENSEL
TROUBLESHOOTING

41.
@APRILWENSEL TROUBLESHOOTING

42.
@APRILWENSEL
TROUBLESHOOTING

43.
SELF-AWARENESS
MINDFULNESS
EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT
SERVICE ORIENTATION
GROWTH MINDSET
@APRILWENSEL

44.
@APRILWENSEL
CODE REVIEW

45.
@APRILWENSEL
CODE REVIEW
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/

46.
EMPATHY
SOCIAL AWARENESS
EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT
SERVICE ORIENTATION
@APRILWENSEL

47.
@APRILWENSEL
EVENING

48.
@APRILWENSEL
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/5605024451
BEDTIME

49.
@APRILWENSEL BEDTIME

50.
IMPULSE CONTROL
INTROSPECTION
SOCIAL AWARENESS
GROWTH MINDSET
@APRILWENSEL

51.
WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO BE?
@APRILWENSEL

52.
WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT WORK WITH?
@APRILWENSEL

53.
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO
CATALYZE POSITIVE
CHANGE ON YOUR TEAM
AND IN YOUR LIFE
@APRILWENSEL

54.
1. SLOW DOWN
2. OBSERVE YOURSELF & OTHERS
3. REFLECT ON WAYS TO IMPROVE
4. IMPLEMENT CHANGES
@APRILWENSEL
TO GROW YOUR CATALYTIC SKILLS

55.
1. SLOW DOWN
2. OBSERVE YOURSELF & OTHERS
3. REFLECT ON WAYS TO IMPROVE
4. IMPLEMENT CHANGES
@APRILWENSEL
TO GROW YOUR CATALYTIC SKILLS

56.
@APRILWENSEL

57.
STAY CURIOUS ABOUT
HOW YOU OPERATE AND
HOW OTHERS OPERATE
@APRILWENSEL

58.
@APRILWENSEL
COMPASSIONATE
CODING
COMPASSIONATE
CODING
April Wensel
Coming soon!

59.
PRACTICE
SELF-COMPASSION
@APRILWENSEL

60.
@APRILWENSEL
OUR WORK CAN BE
JOYFUL AND FULFILLING
THE MAJORITY OF THE
TIME–WHY SETTLE FOR
ANYTHING LESS?

61.
BURNOUT PREVENTION COURSE COMING SOON! NEWSLETTER
COMPASSIONATECODING.COM
@COMPASSIONCODE
@APRILWENSEL
APRIL@COMPASSIONATECODING.COM
THANK YOU!