Ep 18: Sarah Smith—Leading from the front, coding games and building high performing teams

Peak State Podcast: How Leaders Level Up

Sarah Smith is the Founder and lead software engineer for Smithsoft, who make educational games for young people. She also Founded the Brisbane chapter of Women Who Code. We talk about her leadership and entrepreneurial journey, her achievements and challenges.

Listen now.

Show notes

• Sarah’s links
• @sarah_j_smith on Twitter
• Smithsoft
• Sarah Live Coding
• Pandora’s books
• Women Who Code—Meetup for women in tech
• Brisbane chapter of Women Who Code
• Upcoming events (talks and training)… Meetup group
• Sarah’s tips for women in technology

1. The ability to work in deeply technical and leadership roles is not gender-specific.
2. The more deeply technical you get, the more rewards there are.
3. The importance of professional development. Invest in yourself.
4. Paying it forwards to other women. Become a mentor to others.
5. Staying part of the conversation. Be a champion for women in technology. Make yourself heard. But also know that it’s ok to then pass on the baton and let others lead the charge.

• Books for technical leaders
• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity by Alan Cooper
• Peopleware by Tom DeMarco
• Game Changers by Dan Golding and Leena van Deventer
• People
• “Building capability is more important than building products. At least initially”—Peter Laurie