Study Group: The Psychology of Software Teams, Chapter 1

Join us for the first session of our new study group, where we'll be reading and discussing Dr. Cat Hicks' book The Psychology of Software Teams.
We're starting at the beginning, with Chapter 1: The Brains and Hearts That Build the World.

This is an informal book club: we meet to share our thoughts, questions, and half-formed reactions to what we've read. Everyone is welcome, whatever your relationship to the software engineering world and however long you've been in it. The only preparation needed is reading the chapter for that session.
We'll shape the group and its format together, taking inspiration from the book club guide the author put together herself: https://catharsisinsight.com/book-club-guide

Want to go deeper?
For Chapter 1, Cat recommends two pieces of companion material:

• Her posit::conf(2025) keynote — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-bMX_l3nkk
• A short, practical IEEE Software paper on the four sociocognitive factors behind the LABS model for resilient teams — https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=10491133

Reflection prompts
The guide includes two "Try it" prompts for this chapter. Sit with them for a few minutes before the session if you can.

• Think of one moment at work where your emotional state visibly shaped your technical output (a good day or a bad one). What would it have looked like for your team to account for that? Make an if-then plan (“if I have a bad day, then I will…”) to take care of yourself on a bad day.
• Think of a moment where you’ve seen a technical person or team successfully make their work more “visible and valued.” What barriers did they face in doing so? Is there any wisdom they would pass along to others? If you are that person, what advice would you give your younger self? To make it tangible, write down one concrete piece of advice, or even a whole letter, to your younger self.

— from Dr. Cat Hicks' book club guide: https://catharsisinsight.com/book-club-guide

About the series
The current plan is to have one session per chapter and meet every other week, giving everyone plenty of time to prepare. We also have a discord channel to keep the discussion going between the meetings: https://discord.gg/FApmy7zYkn

See you there!