Leadership Soft Skills

Why Leadership Soft Skills?

Do you have technical individuals who have recently been promoted into management frustrated because they don’t have the proper skills? Or, are employees complaining that their technical lead, supervisor, or first-line manager isn’t helping them be successful? In many technical organizations when someone does great as an individual contributor they are promoted to management – where they may not have the skills they need to be successful. How can you better retain the talent you have? Do you have diverse teams, maximizing your efficiency? How can you increase your organization’s productivity? Solutions to these questions are presented in Dr. Trego’s offerings. Provide courses for your employees that are developed by a technical leader for technical individuals!

Why Dr. Trego?

Dr. Trego started her career as a technical researcher at The Boeing Company. Her career ladder zigged and zagged through aerospace, defense, and medical devices to academia. She was a technical individual promoted to management and had to learn new skills. She was the sole female in a large group of engineers. She became an executive in a Fortune 500 company and has worked internationally. With this unique multi-cultural, multi-sector experience Dr. Trego teaches in relatable story form how to increase you and your organization’s vital skills to unlock their unlimited potential. Read more about Dr. Trego’s qualifications.

How Do I Learn More?

Whether you are an educator, technical organization, or meeting planner you can find the resources you need by either reading additional information below or by following the menus to find information specific to your organization.

Talks , Trainings, and Topics

Keynote: BUILDING OTHERS BY BEING A CHAMPION

New for 2025!

Successful technical organizations and individuals realize the immense need for mentoring and supporting internal growth opportunities. Providing mentoring opportunities increases an employee’s ability to stay satisfied and find growth avenues within your organization leading to increased employee retention and reduced hiring and retaining costs. One of the most impactful ways to increase mentoring programs is to create a culture of not just being a mentor. but by becoming a champion to others, no matter your status or experience.

Dr. Trego tells accounts from her own experiences of starting out as a young engineer with champions who helped her become an award-winning engineer. Through passion and humor, Dr. Trego assists organizations, teams, and individuals to develop a champion mentality. In addition, individuals are taught how skills and experiences that they may already possess can help them build others up to help unlock their unlimited potential.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Identify how to be more than a mentor but a champion to someone
  • Learn how to think differently about your own life’s events to support others
  • Realize that your potential may be greater than even you think!
Who Should Attend?

No experience required!  Whether you are a technical individual just starting college or a seasoned executive this keynote provides valuable perspective and skills required to help others, at any level, be more successful.  The breakout and workshop opportunities are best geared towards technical individuals who have recently been promoted into management or those who just want to increase some of their soft skills.

Follow-on Breakout and Workshop Opportunities

Want to learn more and dive deeper into developing tools that will guide you on how to increase your skills to become a better leader? Schedule an interactive one-hour breakout or half-day workshop where Dr. Trego will teach, utilizing her own experiences as a technical leader as well as lead group activities, to increase organizations’ motivation and productivity.

Gain Confidence by Squashing the Imposter Syndrome

Have you, or someone you know or work with, ever felt like a fraud and someone will find out that you don’t deserve to be at the table?  The Impostor Syndrome paralyzes us into thinking we don’t belong and don’t have the skills to succeed.  This isn’t the case!  Discover what’s holding you back and how to gain the confidence you need to be successful. Squashing the imposter syndrome requires organizations to embrace a culture of confidence. In this highly interactive opportunity, Dr. Angela Trego discusses with story and interactive class participation how the Imposter Syndrome keeps technical professionals from achieving their full potential. Gain a better understanding of what sometimes causes it and learn tools to help combat and prevent the imposter syndrome.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Cultivate confidence and thus become more willing to tackle challenges, leading to increased efficiency and higher quality work.
  • Be more empowered to share your ideas and take risks, fostering your own creativity and ability to innovate.
  • Actively contribute more and collaborate more effectively with others with more confidence resulting in stronger teamwork.
Who Should Attend?

Leaders, administrators, counselors, and faculty members who might be experiencing the Imposter Syndrome or interacting with those who may have the Imposter Syndrome (that sort of means everyone!)

When Should You Use This Offering?

As training for employees or faculty development days. This topic also has a keynote address. Click here to learn more…

Feedback as a Survival Skill:  5 Steps to Improve Giving Feedback

Mastering the art of constructive feedback is one of the most vital, yet underutilized, skills in leadership. While organizations recognize that feedback is critical to survival, many leaders avoid it due to the perceived “negative” weight it carries. In this session, we reframe feedback as a tool for performance enhancement and professional development. You will learn how to de-escalate the tension around difficult conversations, increase team productivity through clear communication, and build a culture of trust. These skills will not only improve organizational performance but will foster resilient, positive working relationships across your entire team.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Differentiate between the various types of feedback and when to apply each for maximum impact.
  • Identify the critical frameworks required to deliver feedback that is both actionable and well-received.
  • Apply proven techniques through guided practice to ensure immediate transfer of skills to the workplace.
  • Develop strategies to transform feedback from a “one-way critique” into a collaborative performance driver.
Who Should Attend?

Those who have just been promoted to leading individuals or looking to get that next promotion to help you have the skills necessary to create an amazing team dynamic through employee growth.

When Should You Use This Offering?

For individuals who have just been promoted or when helping supervisors and first-line managers increase their communication skills.

Mastering the Art of Presentations: The Anatomy of a Murder

An engineer may have the greatest design or piece of analysis in the world but if you can’t communicate it to the right people in the right way your design will never be realized. How do you do that? What happens if you need to present to a coworker? A manager? A CEO? A customer? Each of these requires slightly different approaches. These skills will help you not only be a better engineer but also help you in your career advancement as you learn how to present information in a more meaningful manner.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Learn the do’s and don’ts of giving a rock star presentation
  • Understand how to address different audiences, whether that’s at a conference, with customers, or with your boss
  • Define persuasive strategies to help you sell your idea
  • Identify techniques necessary to teach skills
  • Develop your 30-second elevator pitch to help you at your next networking event
Who Should Attend?

Anyone wanting to increase their communications skills and ability to give presentations.

When Should You Use This Offering?

For young professionals or anyone wanting to improve their communication skills.

Leadership Transitions – But I’ve Never Done That Before?

I used to be the expert, now I’m the boss – help!  You’ve been successful in your area of expertise as an individual contributor and been promoted to the next level – managing and leading those you just worked with!  Eck!  These areas include work values, time allocation and capabilities.  Learn how to rise to becoming a leader who can motivate and enliven attitudes in your team.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Understand the risks of “stalling” in an individual contributor mindset.
  • Master the different skills necessary to lead rather than execute tasks.
  • Identify critical transition areas for new managers.
  • Develop a personalized action plan to close skill gaps and achieve leadership potential.
Who Should Attend?

Those seeking promotion to first-line management or those who have just become first-line managers or supervisors.

When Should You Use This Offering?

For individuals and high potential individual contributors looking to understand the skills necessary to be a successful manager.

How to Have a 5-Course Meal at Dollar Menu Prices: Effective Time Management Strategies

No matter what we do we only ever have 24 hours in a day. Time is one of our most precious commodities. How can we most effectively utilize those hours? What can we do to stretch our time? Learn 7 keys to managing your time to be the most productive person you can be…effectively making a five-course meal out of dollar menu items.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Learn how to manage your time
  • Practicie skills such as saying “no”
  • Be more productive!
Who Should Attend?

Individuals wanting to increase their soft skills and become better managers.

When Should You Use This Offering?

For individuals and high potential individual contributors looking to understand the skills necessary to be a successful manager.

That’s My Best and Final Offer: Cornerstones of Negotiations

You are constantly negotiating in life whether it be with colleagues, customers, suppliers, bosses, family, or friends. While we don’t have control over whether we negotiate or not we do have control over whether we negotiate better or worse than others. Learn tools and tactics to increase your skills as an ethical negotiator. Transform your stress of negotiations into confidence as you enjoy dramatically better outcomes for all parties involved.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Win more “yeses” by persuading and influencing without making excessive concessions.
  • Understand the wants and needs of counterparts better to create more value.
  • Understand your negotiation power and how to boost your power. 
Who Should Attend?

Individuals interested in increasing their skills as an ethical negotiator.

When Should You Use This Offering?

For individuals and high potential individual contributors looking to understand the skills necessary to be a successful manager. General employee training.

Mentoring Methods: Best Practices

Developing people and retaining employees is important but how do you do that with so much on everyone’s plate already?  Learn the few critical elements necessary to create a program that helps your employees achieve their unlimited potential. 

Outcomes
PARTICIPANTS WILL
  • Understand the need to have a mentoring program
  • Understand methods needed as a mentor and mentee
  • Review best practices
Who Should Attend

Individuals and organizations developing or needing mentoring programs.

When Should You Use This Offering?

Before initiating a mentoring program, or at the start of a women’s group.

Aligning Your Organization through Strategic Planning

It is more essential than you think that you have both a strategy and that your organization understands your strategy. How do you create a strategy with buy-in and motivation as well as alignment for every level of your organization? Learn skills and techniques necessary to achieve this goal. This interactive session will allow you to come away with the ability to successfully develop your strategy and vision with a new attitude.

Outcomes

This course equips participants with tools that enable them to:

  • Understand the need for a strategic plan
  • Define the basic elements of a strategic plan
  • Learn how to develop a strategic plan with buy-in from all levels
Who Should Attend?

Managers and individuals supporting the development and implementation of your company’s vision.

When Should You Use This Offering?

As your organization starts up or when it is revisiting its vision.

Inclusion & Diversity: How to Get ‘Em, How To Keep ‘Em!

Diversity in the workforce has been shown to produce better, more robust products and research – it even affects your bottom line! Learn about unconscious bias and micro-messaging techniques.  Discuss topics associated with methods to recruit and retain women in your organization.  As the sole female among her engineering team, Dr. Trego will use personal examples as well as other case studies to bring to light how technical organizations can take advantage of this typically underrepresented population. 

Outcomes
PARTICIPANTS WILL
  • Understand the benefits of having more women in your STEM organization
  • Understand micro-messaging and unconscious bias
  • Identify recruitment and retention methods for women in STEM
Who Should Attend

Organizations interested in increasing the number of women in their organizations.

When Should You Use This Offering?

For kickoff meetings and prior to major hiring events.