Building High Performing Software Engineering Teams with Simon Keefe, ex-Atlassian Tech Leader

"Don't be afraid to succeed" is the advice that tech leader Simon Keefe would give his 15 year old self.

Nicola Steel talks to Simon, a highly experienced software engineering lead who has worked for Atlassian & various organisations in the UK & Australia.

Simon talks about his life growing up in a poor area of Liverpool where his headmaster told him that he would "amount to nothing"! He was fortunate enough to ignore this "advice" and gained a 1st Class degree which propelled his tech leadership career.

He talks about how working for Atlassian was a massive culture shock because the company actually lived & breathed their values across the organisation with a very open culture & candid feedback.

Simon believes that the most important aspect of high performing teams is TRUST (as opposed to fear) as well as psychological safety & empathy. We talk about diversity & how men are a crucial part of the conversation.

The main challenges Simon has experienced are toxic work environments, imposter syndrome & the discrimination he faced because of his sexuality.

We also talk about his passion for philanthropy.

Simon's Linkedin Profile - Simon Keefe | LinkedIn