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# Reading the Room:  The Missing Competency in Tech Leadership


- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe - Virtual Stage

## Description

Many tech leaders are highly competent but still find themselves excluded from key conversations, perceived as “too technical,” or not invited early into strategic decisions. This isn’t a skills gap — it’s a perception and influence gap.
In this session, you’ll learn how to read informal power dynamics, understand how influence is built at senior levels, and shift from a task-oriented mindset to enterprise leadership. Grounded in Daniel Goleman’s Emotional & Social Intelligence framework, this talk provides practical strategies to ensure your expertise is seen, sought out, and valued beyond execution.

## Speaker

### [Carol Palombini](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@carol-palombini)

Coaching Tech Leaders on Executive Presence & Influence | Psychologist at Palombini Consulting & Coaching


## Related talks at this congress

- [We Know Developers Are Neurodiverse. So Why Do Tech Teams Still Break?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe-virtual-stage/sessions/1635-we-know-developers) — Luisa Liesenberg
- [Why Smart Engineering Teams Make Bad Decisions](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe-virtual-stage/sessions/1648-why-smart) — Magdalena Szumna
- [Selling Your Technical Vision | For Leaders and the Engineers Who Want to Become Them](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe-virtual-stage/sessions/1597-selling-your) — Anastasiia Shabalina
- [From Code to Culture: Why Leadership Determines Software Quality](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe-virtual-stage/sessions/1540-from-code-to-culture) — Oskar Kruschitz