Leadership &
Communication for
Engineers
Whether you’re a early-career engineer learning to speak up in project meetings or a senior engineer leading across teams, Koppett’s coaching and workshops help you build the human skills that turn strong technical work into projects people rally behind.
25 YEARS TRAINING LEADERS AT
Meta
•
NASA
•
Eli Lilly
•
PwC
•
Apple
•
SUNY
•
MVP Healthcare
•
Meta • NASA • Eli Lilly • PwC • Apple • SUNY • MVP Healthcare •
How It Works
As AI and automation take on more of the technical work, the skills that set engineers apart are increasingly human ones: explaining trade-offs clearly, bringing teams and stakeholders together around a shared direction, and staying calm and creative when plans change. Like any engineering skill, these are learned through practice, feedback and iteration.
Our programs combine improvisation, storytelling and motivational theory with feedback and coaching. You build presence, active listening, rapid adaptation and real-time collaboration, then apply them to the situations engineers face every day: design reviews, client and stakeholder presentations, project setbacks, one-on-ones and cross-disciplinary planning.
Led by an Industry Pioneer the work is guided by Kat Koppett, author of Training to Imagine, a foundational text in applied improvisation, currently in its 3rd edition and in use as a textbook in many university undergraduate and MBA programs. She holds a B.F.A. in Drama from NYU and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.
What It Develops
Influence & Clarity
A great technical idea only matters if people buy in. We help you shape the what (a clear narrative that connects architecture to business outcomes) and the how (vocal and physical presence).
Adaptability Under Pressure
Requirements change, schedules move and production goes down at 2 a.m. Improv builds the same muscle: holding the plan loosely, reading what the moment needs, and responding with clarity instead of freezing or over-engineering.
Team Alignment
High-performing engineering organizations aren’t built on individual heroics. Teams learn to build on each other’s ideas, disagree productively in design reviews, share ownership, and create the psychological safety that makes experimentation and honest conversations possible.
Technical Leadership
Whether you lead through a title or through influence, the job becomes growing other people. We help project leads and managers give useful feedback, coach instead of fix, communicate a clear technical vision, earn trust and handle dynamics across teams.
Who It’s For
Individual Engineers
who want to communicate their ideas with more confidence and impact.
New Project Leads & Managers
moving from doing the technical work to making others successful.
Engineering Teams
that want to collaborate more smoothly across discipline and locations.
Engineering Leadership & L&D
investing in culture and the next generation of technical leaders.
Built around your firm
Every engineering organization has its disciplines, processes and challenges. Each engagement is designed around your teams, your project delivery process and your strategic goals.
Keynotes & Interactive Workshops
Multi-Session Training Series
Retreat Facilitation
Individual & Small-Group Coaching
Join us for the improv gym
Think of it as a standing practice session for your communication skills. Each week we run playful exercises that sharpen listening, quick thinking and presence. Show up, try things out, and leave with something to use in your next team meeting.
Drop-in: come every week or when you can
Short, hands-on and low-stakes. No improv experience needed
A mixed room of professionals, so you practice with new people
Take the next step
Ready to strengthen communication and leadership across your engineering organization? Book a consult to talk through your goals and design a program that fits. Or come practice with us at the Improv Gym this Tuesday.