Leadership Career Coaching
Approach: Pragmatic Guidance from an Engineering Leader
-
Experience-Driven & Battle-Tested: I'm not just a certified coach; I'm an engineering leader who's been in the trenches for over 20 years. Unlike many executive coaches, my guidance is rooted in deep, operational experience leading engineering teams at startups and established companies alike. I understand the real-world pressures and complexities you face because I've navigated them myself.
-
Pragmatic & Actionable Advice: Forget abstract theories. I combine my CTO and Senior Engineering Manager experience to offer practical, actionable advice you can implement immediately. We'll brainstorm concrete strategies to optimize your team's performance, streamline processes, and conquer your most pressing leadership challenges. You'll leave each session with clear steps forward.
-
Results-Focused & Solution-Oriented: My coaching is ultimately about results. For clients who are ready to take action and value practical solutions, my approach is highly effective. While some might call it advising or mentoring, I focus on delivering tangible outcomes that move the needle for you and your organization.
-
Answers, Not Just Questions: Tired of endless questions without concrete direction? I understand. In engineering leadership, recognizing patterns is crucial. I've seen countless patterns of success and failure. I leverage this experience to help you rapidly identify effective solutions tailored to your specific business needs, accelerating your progress and saving you valuable time.
How We'll Work Together:
Every engineering leader's journey is unique, but many of the challenges are surprisingly common. My coaching is highly individualized and tailored to your specific situation and goals. While each engagement is customized, here are some of the key areas we commonly explore together to drive your leadership growth:
Strategy
-
Strategy: Gain Clarity and Direction - Understanding and Creating Strategy
-
Risk Mitigation: Proactive Problem Solving - Assessing Technical Risk
-
Roadmap to Success: Strategic Planning - Building a Technical Roadmap
Organization Design
-
Right-Sized Structure: Optimized for Your Stage - Defining the Right Engineering Levels for your Stage
-
Scalable Teams: Adaptable Organization - Defining and Evolving Organization Structure as the Company Grows
Hiring
-
Attract Top Talent: Build a World-Class Team - Attracting Great Engineers to Your Team
-
Expand Your Talent Pool: Hire Diverse Skill Sets - How to Hire Entirely New Skill Sets
-
Efficient Hiring: Streamlined Process - Defining and Running an Effective Hiring Process
-
Effective Partnerships: Leverage Recruiting - How to Work with Recruiting
-
Positive First Impressions: World Class Onboarding - Running a World Class Onboarding Process
Developing Your Team
-
Invest in Growth: Professional Development of your Team - Professional Development of your Team
-
Empower Your Leaders: Develop Coaching Skills - Developing your Coaching Skills
Financial Management
-
Data-Driven Decisions: Headcount Planning - Headcount Planning
-
Financial Foresight: Predictable Budgeting - Financial Modeling & Budgeting
-
Control Costs: Engineering-Specific Financials - Managing Engineering-Specific Cost Structures
-
Strategic Partnerships: Effective Vendor Negotiations - Negotiating With Vendors
Leading Cross Functionally
-
Clear Communication: Business Stakeholder Alignment - Communicating with Business Stakeholders
-
Stronger Relationships: Cross-Functional Collaboration - Developing Great Cross-Functional Relationships
Engineering Excellence
-
Define Success: Clear Standards - Defining what Good Looks Like
-
Minimize Disruptions: Manage Tech Debt - Managing Tech Debt
-
Optimize Output: Streamlined Development Process - Optimizing the Development Process
-
Ensure Quality: Strategic QA & Testing - The Role of QA & Testing
Performance Management
-
Clear Expectations: Setting and Managing Goals - Setting and Managing to Expectations
-
Fair Assessments: Effective Performance Framework - Developing and Applying an Effective Performance Assessment Framework
-
Drive Accountability: Holding People Responsible - Holding People Accountable
-
Improve Performance: Deliver Effective PIPs - Delivering Performance Improvement Plans
-
Navigating Transitions: Managing Terminations - Managing Terminations
General Management
-
Productive Meetings: Run Great Sessions - Running Great Meetings
-
Effective Connections: Powerful 1:1s & Skip Levels - Conducting Effective 1:1’s and Skip Levels
-
Empowerment Through Delegation: Effective Delegation and Followup - Effective Delegation and Followup
-
Future-Proof Leadership: Develop Your Bench - Developing your Leadership Bench
Engineering Management
-
Consistent Practices: Engineering Specific Policies - Engineering Specific Policies such as Code Review, Test Coverage, Deployment etc.
-
Measure Progress: Engineering KPIs - Engineering KPIs
-
Stay on Track: Manage Your Roadmap - Managing a Roadmap
Product Leadership
-
Seamless Collaboration: Product/Engineering Interface - Defining the Product/Engineering Interface
-
Strategic Partnerships: Be an Effective Product Partner - Being an Effective Partner with Product
Managing Yourself
-
Strong Foundation: Build Your Support Structure - Building and Optimizing Your Support Structure
-
Resilient Mindset: Manage Your Psychology - Managing Your Psychology
-
Lead Through Uncertainty: Leading In Hard Times - Leading In Hard Times
Communication
-
Concise Messaging: Be Clear and Brief - Being Concise
-
Effective Problem Solving: Ask the Right Questions - Asking the Right Questions
-
Professional Presence: Craft Great Written Communication - Crafting Great Written Communication
-
Navigate Conflict: Having Hard Conversations - Having Hard Conversations
-
Engaging Presentations: Improve Public Speaking - Improving your Public Speaking
-
Executive Impact: Optimize How You Show Up - Optimizing How you Show Up as a Leader, including “Executive Presence”
Managing Up
-
Strategic Alignment: Understand Leader Priorities - Understanding your CEO or Leader’s Priorities
-
Influence and Inform: Upward Communication Patterns - Upward Communication Patterns
Time Management
-
Calendar Mastery: Manage Your Time Effectively - Managing Your Calendar
-
Focus Preservation: Handle Interruptions - Handling Interruptions
-
Prioritize Effectively: Make Time for What’s Important - Making Time for What’s Important
Culture
-
Healthy Environment: Assess Existing Culture - Assessing Your Existing Culture
-
Positive Change: Interventions to Improve Culture - Interventions to Improve Culture
Pragmatic Guidance from an Engineering Leader. Here's what's included:
-
Personalized 1:1 Coaching Sessions: Benefit from a minimum of two focused sessions per month, conducted remotely via Zoom, providing dedicated time for your growth and strategic planning. Flexible scheduling options are available.
-
Pragmatic Guidance & Actionable Advice: Receive direct, real-world advice based on my 20+ years of experience leading engineering teams, including as a CTO. Get answers and actionable strategies you can implement immediately.
-
Unlimited "Thinking Partner" Support: Stay connected between sessions with unlimited email and slack access for quick questions, feedback, and brainstorming as you navigate your daily challenges.
-
Access to Exclusive Resources: Tap into my curated library of articles, templates, and frameworks specifically designed for engineering leaders. Get personalized recommendations tailored to your needs.
-
A Safe & Confidential Space: Share your challenges and aspirations openly and honestly in a completely confidential and risk-free environment without fear of workplace repercussions.
-
Accountability & Progress Tracking: Stay focused on your goals with my support in tracking your progress and overcoming obstacles.
