for Individual Contributors
As an individual contributor, you’re the person in the organization that gets the work done.
But it can feel like a struggle.
Too much to do. Changing priorities.
Not knowing how to take that next step in your career.
Wouldn’t it be nice to move past generic advice and feel like you have a plan customized to you? Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like you can make progress?
Hi. I’m Matt. I’m an engineer and engineering leader, with well over 20 years of experience building software and healthy teams that get business results that matter.
Whether you’re looking for your first role or experienced, whether you’re an engineer, a PM, or a tester, I’d be happy to be your coach!
Three Simple Steps
Schedule a discovery call
In a thirty-minute discovery call, you and I will talk about what difficulties you’re facing and what changes you want to see.
Get a written diagnosis and a plan
I’ll send you my diagnosis and a recommended plan for moving from here to where you want to be.
Work the plan
You’ll work the plan, taking your team from here to a better “there”. You’ll be more confident and less stressed.
You’re the star player. I’m your coach.
(That means you’ll get all the credit.)
Table of Contents
Introductory Sessions
A simple way to start is with an introductory session. An introductory session lets you get to know me, evaluate whether we would make a good team, and make sure you’ll get value out of working together. Introductory sessions are 60 or 90 minutes, at your option.
Here are some things I can do for you during an introductory session:
Team Collaboration Assessment – We’ll talk through your team and manager, how well you collaborate with them, and dig into your interactions. If you have data from tools like StrengthsFinder or Working Genius, bring those. At the end of the session, we’ll have an assessment of strengths, weaknesses, and specific ways to improve your collaboration with your team and your manager.
Workload Analysis – We’ll review your baseline/background workload, your current projects, your upcoming projects, look at your team’s roadmap, and come up with a plan and recommendations you can deliver for handling the workload sustainably.
Project Assessment – We’ll take a look at a current or upcoming project, figure out what’s solid and what’s risky, and come up with concrete steps for you to take to improve your chances of succeeding with the project.
Private Coaching Single Session – Your agenda! We’ll talk about your specific questions, concerns, issues—whatever is on your mind.
Transformative Coaching Packages
Beyond single sessions, I offer an extended transformative coaching package for engineers and other individual contributors. The goal is to make larger, more transformative improvements for you and your career.
If you don’t see what you need below, please do ask. We can come up with a customized engagement that will help you get to where you want to be.
Private Coaching for Engineers – As an engineer, you have your own unique goals. Maybe it’s enhancing your technical skills. Maybe you’ve been told to improve your “soft skills”, whatever those are. Maybe you want to take the next step in your career.
Private engineer coaching offers a chance to help you get where you want to be in your career. It’s customized to you, your skills, your likes, your disliked—it’s not a generic roadmap.
Whether you want to “stay in the mud” and be technical, move into a technical leadership role, become a manager, or perhaps need help clarifying your goals, private coaching can help.
Starting at $2k for 10 weeks with weekly sessions.
Or you can book a single private coaching session above.
Why a Coach?
If you’re reading this, you’re the kind of person that can solve problems. You just need the right resources. Maybe you find a stack of books, or a podcast, or call up a friend.
A coach is a great resource as well. Just sayin’.
Besides information, a coach offers:
- Objectivity – a coach can give you specific, objective feedback in a way that a book can’t, and a lot of people (including, sometimes, your manager) won’t
- Support – a coach can help encourage you when the going gets rough
- Information – a coach can share knowledge, suggest new techniques, or help point you to approaches that have worked in similar situations
- Application – a coach can walk you through practical application of a new skill (after all, knowing about a technique and expecting to get results is like expecting to hit your fitness goals because you know how a treadmill works!)
- Reduced load – a coach can help guide you through steps, so you can focus on growth (instead of trying to navigate resources, make a plan, hold yourself to the plan, and learn, all at the same time)
- Accountability – a coach can push you to make changes instead of thinking, refining, and postponing (or, if you’re wired the other way, a coach can push you to think before making changes)
You’re certainly capable of coaching yourself to make great improvements. It takes time and effort. I encourage you to do the math and work out the return on investment both ways, and how long it will take to start seeing the results you’re after.
Remember: you’re after results. I want you to get the results you’re after. If coaching is the fastest, most cost-effective way to those results, book an introductory session.
All coaching can be done remotely. If you’re in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area, on-site is generally available. If you’re not in the Cedar Rapids area, we still might be able to work something out.
Not looking for coaching right now? You’re still welcome to join my mailing list and get useful insights into team health, management, and building useful systems.
For other kinds of coaching…
I also offer coaching for managers/executives and for whole teams (including their leaders).