Rise of the Relationship Worker: Being a Better Human in the Age of AI

In the six decades since its first usage, the term Knowledge Worker has become synonymous with Software Engineers. With an almost singular emphasis on STEM skills, and an excused lack of people skills, the reputation of the successful software engineer evolved into that of the genius in a cubicle. Two factors have caused us to re-examine the relative importance of hard and soft skills in Software Engineering. First, the very nature of how we produce software changed dramatically with the advent of Agile practices compelling us to develop software…socially. Second, Automation and AI are reshaping the tasks which can be performed by machines putting even more emphasis on the need for human soft skills. This confluence doesn't diminish the demand for Engineers. According to Geoff Colvin, tomorrow’s most valuable engineers will not be geniuses in cubicles; rather, they’ll be those who can also build relationships and collaborate. Colvin calls these Relationship Workers. When you add in trust and storytelling, together, these become critical the differentiators between the Machines and Humans.

So how do we as Engineers thrive in an environment that depends on skills that we were never encouraged to develop? Join Jennifer and Geoff as they take us beyond the "why's" and explores the "how's" of relationship building, establishing a "How can I help" mindset and trusting environment, telling a good story, and other tips and tricks that they've gathered in their experience and in their research of contemporaries such as Simon Sinek, Tim Urban, Geoff Colvin and Rob Lambert.