World Congress 2026 Europe - Virtual Stage • Jul 2, 2026 • Session details

Reading the Room: The Missing Competency in Tech Leadership

Carol Palombini

Why do flawless technical pitches still get rejected? Pure logic often breeds executive skepticism. Master organizational awareness to finally secure stakeholder buy-in and accelerate your tech career.

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#1 about 2 min

Why data and technical results fail to secure buy-in

Relying solely on logic and technical performance often fails to secure stakeholder buy-in.

#2 about 2 min

Pushing logic and arguments damages trust in leadership

Attempting to overcome micromanagement with stronger technical arguments often decreases leadership trust.

#3 about 1 min

The neuroscience behind decision making and emotional intelligence

Research shows that human decision-making breaks down when emotional processing is impaired.

#4 about 2 min

Developing organizational awareness to read stakeholder dynamics

High-performing leaders use emotional intelligence to understand organizational culture and decision-makers.

#5 about 2 min

Applying emotional intelligence to uncover hidden leadership concerns

Uncovering a manager's underlying fears shifts the focus from arguing facts to building trust.

#6 about 1 min

Making leadership visible through succession planning and dashboards

Providing visibility into team stability alleviates management anxiety and supports career progression.

#7 about 1 min

Four critical questions for mapping stakeholder needs and goals

Identifying decision-making power, pressures, and conflicting goals helps align proposals with stakeholder interests.

Matching moments

4:09 min

Overcoming introversion and conflict avoidance in tech leadership

Sumit Gupta · JS Congress

5:35 min

Approaching leadership and relationship building in tech

Ana Gil Amor

Ana Gil Amor +1 · Europe 2026 Virtual

1:50 min

Core leadership skills in the age of AI

Rudi Bauer

Rudi Bauer +1 · Cappuccino with HR

2:54 min

Empathy and clear messaging as critical leadership skills

Laura Möller

Laura Möller +3 · World Congress 2024

2:13 min

Summarizing key retention strategies for human resources and tech leaders

Pauline Pagliaro

Pauline Pagliaro · World Congress 2025

1:47 min

Connecting empathy to technical resilience in software development

Malin Litwinski · World Congress 2022

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September 24, 2026 · 15:30–16:00

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Board Director & Technology Executive

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 11:40–12:10

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 16:50–17:20

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Staff Technical Program Manager at Google

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 12:55–13:25

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National Executive Advisor at Code & Coffee | Engineering & AI Community Leader

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