Empathy takes energy, and it isn’t easy. When our distress levels go up, our capacity for empathy goes down. During these critical moments for connection, habits of disconnection can override our ability to show up for others and implement our good intentions. In this presentation, participants will learn how to execute empathy continuously and sustainably.

Conflict on teams is essential. Without the ability to constructively dissent and debate diverse points of view, innovation and creativity become stifled. Yet conflict can also dissolve trust and breed resentment. When conflict gets personal, it can be a vicious cycle that makes workplaces unhealthy and unproductive.

In this workshop, we’ll explore ways to turn interdepartmental frustration into effective innovation. This workshop is most effective when teams from at least two different groups attend together at the same time.

In this presentation, Andrea Goulet will give you specific and immediately actionable guidance for turning a toxic culture into a healthy one. Successful management practices from the past no longer work and how you can grow and adapt your behavior to become the leader that workplaces of today (and tomorrow) need.

When leaders exhibit strong empathy skills, their teams report being significantly more innovative, motivated, and engaged. Empathetic leadership is shown to decrease burnout, increase well-being, and improve retention. In this presentation, participants will learn specific practices for implementing empathy across an organization.

When business leaders exhibit strong empathy skills, their teams report being significantly more innovative, motivated, and engaged. Empathetic leadership decreases burnout, increases well-being, and improves retention. It’s also a critical component to achieving your inclusion initiatives. When leaders are more confident in their empathy skills, more empathic and ethical organizations can thrive.

Empathy, like software, has an underlying system architecture. When we understand the schematic details of empathy, we can operationalize it more effectively and embed compassion into our codebases and communication habits. In this presentation, participants will learn modern models of empathy that often contradict common colloquial expressions.

In this workshop, participants will look at their coding practices with a fresh perspective to uncover how to notice opportunities and apply empathy effectively for a positive change by using Empathy-Driven Development.

In this inspirational talk, Andrea Goulet, a noted expert on empathy and communication in the software industry, will focus on one false binary that runs rampant in tech companies — the “soft skill” / ”hard skill” divide. Whether you call yourself “good with machines” or “good with people,” this is one talk you won’t want to miss.

Empathy is a technical skill. Don’t worry. You read that correctly. While empathy is often cited as a critical “soft skill,” it doesn’t stop there. Empathy is also an incredibly technical topic that is more accessible to analytical engineers and more vital to building software than you might think. In this engaging presentation, Andrea Goulet, a noted expert on communication in the software industry, will debunk several myths around empathy. You’ll walk away with a solid understanding of what empathy is, what it isn’t, how you can build your empathy skills, and a framework for using empathy while coding.

Technologists often need to share important information with people whose expertise isn’t as deep as ours. Effective communication in these places can determine whether a project gets funded, who gets promoted, how much customers want to purchase products, and more. It even impacts the code. When we communicate with clarity and purpose, our codebases are easier to read, modify, and deploy.