Engineering Leadership Advisory
The conversation you cannot have with your own team or your own board. Two sessions a month, async in between, and someone who already knows your context.
Who it is for CTOs, VPs of Engineering and technical founders facing decisions they cannot easily discuss inside their own organisation
what usually brings people here
You are the most senior engineering person in the organisation, which means the decisions that most need a second opinion are the ones you cannot discuss internally. Your peers are your reports, your board wants confidence rather than deliberation, and the people who would understand the problem all work for you.
- The decision you are weighing would signal something to your team before you had decided it.
- You want to think out loud with someone who has no stake in the outcome and no seat in your organisation.
- You are carrying a call about structure, ownership or a senior hire that you cannot rehearse in front of the people it affects.
- Something from an assessment or a review is halfway implemented and drifting.
How it works
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Two sessions a month, 60 minutes
Your agenda. Bring a decision, a draft, a reorganisation you are unsure about, or a conversation you are dreading.
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Async between sessions
A document to react to, a message when something breaks on a Tuesday. Answered within a working day.
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Continuity, which is the point
I keep the context, so you never spend the first twenty minutes explaining your organisation again.
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A standing review of what you decided
We revisit earlier calls with the benefit of what happened, which is the part that actually builds judgement.
what you leave with
- A sparring partner for the decisions you cannot take to your own team or your own board.
- Faster, better argued decisions, with the reasoning written down.
- A second read on documents, plans and organisational changes before they land.
- A record of what you decided and why, which is the thing you will want in six months.
format, timing and price
- Format
- 2 × 60 min per month, plus async between sessions.
- Outcome
- An external thinking partner for the engineering leadership decisions that have no good audience inside your own company.
- Price
- from €1,500 / month 3-month minimum
Monthly, with a 3-month minimum. After that it runs month to month, cancel with 30 days notice.
Free. No pitch. You'll leave with at least one named bottleneck.
questions people ask about this engagement
Is there a minimum commitment?
Yes, a 3-month minimum. After that it runs month to month and you can stop with 30 days notice.
What if I need more than two sessions in a month?
Extra sessions are booked at the same rate. Some months are quiet and some months are a reorganisation.
Can my Engineering Managers use it instead of me?
Yes, and one seat is one person. A retainer split across four people becomes four shallow conversations.
Is this coaching?
Not in the certified sense. I have run engineering teams and I will tell you what I think, which is the opposite of what a coach is trained to do.