Wednesday 

Room 4 

13:40 - 14:40 

(UTC+02

Talk (60 min)

How I helped developers talk about feelings and needs

As humans we are not good at sharing our feelings and needs, and it seems to be even harder for people in tech.

People
Soft Skills

Many conflicts and misunderstandings happen because team members don't know what the other members needs. When we don't that, we may accidentally hurt them.

I helped many teams over the years and I have seen this happen again and again. Over time I have developed techniques to address this part as well.

I was working in a large media company, when a team had a conflict escalate into an emotional situation. This is the story of how I helped them talk about their feelings and needs, which was the first step in collaborating again.

I will also share some techniques that you can try out with your own team.

Gitte Klitgaard



Gitte is authentic, she will cut to the chase, and help people become themselves thereby reaching success. Her community contributions include organizing coach camps, and speaking at conferences, where she highlights and makes topics like mental health and psychological safety accessible. She creates safe and respectful environments at work and outside. She listens to and engages the more silent voices and minority groups.

As a woman with her own company working in tech, Gitte has had her fair share of people underestimating her; there is a reason she has a tattoo symbolizing the goddess Freja – a strong woman in a man’s world. As a friend said “you do not take any shit”. She has been called an activist in her fight for equity for all. In her spare time, Gitte collects LEGO and Yodas and keeps in touch with friends from all over the globe including some, she considers her second family. Gitte is owner of Native Wired and has lead change at companies like IBM, LEGO, and Spotify.