Most technical leaders get promoted because they're good at building things. Then they hit a wall. The skills that made you a great engineer don't automatically make you a great leader. Leadership coaching helps you close that gap.
What Is Leadership Coaching?
Leadership coaching is focused, one-on-one work with someone who has led technical teams before. Not theory. Not generic management frameworks. Practical guidance on the actual situations you're facing right now.
You bring real problems. How do you give feedback to a senior engineer who's resistant to change? How do you balance delivery pressure with technical debt? How do you build trust with a team that's skeptical of new leadership? We work through it together, based on what's actually happening in your organization.
How It Works
We start with where you are now. What's working, what's not, and what you want to change. Then we meet regularly—usually every two weeks—to work through specific challenges as they come up. This is not a curriculum. It's responsive to what you need.
Sessions focus on real situations. A difficult conversation you need to have. A decision you're stuck on. A pattern you keep hitting. We talk through the options, role-play if it helps, and you leave with a plan. Between sessions, you try things and report back. Coaching is iterative.
- Assess current state - Where you are, what's hard, what you want to improve
- Focus on real challenges - Work through actual situations you're facing now
- Develop new approaches - Try different techniques, see what works for you
- Build self-awareness - Understand your patterns and how others experience your leadership
- Iterate and refine - Adjust based on what happens when you apply new skills
Who It's For
Technical leaders who are good at their jobs but want to get better. Engineering managers, directors, VPs, and CTOs who need a trusted advisor to talk through the hard parts of leadership that no one prepares you for.
- New engineering managers figuring out how to transition from individual contributor to leader
- VPs of Engineering dealing with organizational growth and scaling challenges
- CTOs who need a sounding board for strategic decisions and executive-level leadership
- Technical leaders facing performance issues, team conflicts, or cultural problems
Key Benefits
You get better at the job faster than you would figuring it out alone. Coaching compresses the learning curve. You make fewer expensive mistakes and handle difficult situations with more confidence.
- Faster growth - Learn from someone who has already made the mistakes you're about to make
- Confidential sounding board - Talk through decisions with someone who has no agenda
- Better difficult conversations - Practice giving feedback, handling conflict, and having hard talks
- Clarity on your leadership style - Understand what works for you instead of copying someone else
- Navigate politics and influence - Learn how to get things done when you don't have direct authority
- Avoid common traps - Recognize patterns before they become problems
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from management training?
Training is generic. Coaching is specific to you and your situation. Training gives you frameworks. Coaching helps you apply judgment to the messy, ambiguous problems that don't fit a framework. Most leaders need both, but coaching is where the real growth happens.
How long does coaching last?
Some leaders work with a coach for a few months to get through a specific transition. Others keep going for years because they find it valuable. There's no fixed timeline. We keep going as long as it's useful.
What if I don't have specific problems to work on?
You will. Leadership is full of problems. If things feel smooth right now, we can work on longer-term development. Building skills before you need them is better than scrambling when a crisis hits. But usually, within two sessions, real challenges surface.
Schedule a call to learn more about how we can help you grow into a more effective leader.