The IT department: an isolated island of “strange nerds” buried in code, speaking a language nobody understands, unable to connect with colleagues and the business side of their organization. A tired cliché—or a reality you recognize?

This isn’t about blaming developers. It’s a symptom of an industry obsessed with tools over people, placing technology on a pedestal, treating it as both the problem and the solution. But here’s the catch: the biggest gains in efficiency aren’t hidden in the next tool or framework. They lie in the people behind the keyboards.

This talk dives into the success factors of Skills Beyond Code and explores how to train teams to bridge the infamous IT-business gap.

Think of it this way: how much does a meeting with five brilliant developers who can’t communicate cost? And how many more of those meetings can your company afford?

Join me to uncover how investing in the human factor can transform your teams and your business.

- Preferred duration: 40 minutes.

- This talk is for team leads and owners of software engineering teams.

- The talk is the evolution of the previous version "You’re a great coder? That alone won’t get you far: The soft skills secret in IT success", that was held on many conferences across Europe in 2024 including a conference opener keynote at the DevDaysEurope in Vilnius.

- This talk is also intended to raise awareness for soft skills, especially communication skills in the tech industry, that statistically proven (see CAHOS report) are the biggest lever for success or failure of IT projects. It is also intended to inform, that skills beyond code make or break a tech career. Especially in the age of AI coding skills alone are nothing special anymore and just not enough.