CTO · VP Engineering · Head of Engineering

CTO Coaching: Sparring for the Calls Only You Can Make

Most weeks bring one call that lands on you alone. Ship the rewrite or kill it. Defend the delivery number or reset it. Promote the loyal director or the right one. Your exec peers have opinions about engineering; sitting in the seat is a different thing.

Coaching here starts from an unusual place: I answer first. I have held the seat, so the early sessions run in mentoring mode, concrete moves with the reasoning attached. Coaching questions get their turn once the urgent fires are out and the work shifts to how you decide, not only what to decide.

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Rated 9.17/10 on average across 300+ reviews.

Coach or mentor? Price the difference in

A coach asks questions until you find your own answer, and needs no background in your domain. A mentor has held your seat and hands you moves tested under fire. Both are legitimate tools, and the expensive mistake is hiring one when you needed the other. Textbook coaching is slow exactly when the board deck is due Friday. Pure mentoring, kept up too long, leaves you dependent on the mentor's judgment instead of building your own.

So engagements here run mentoring-first and shift toward coaching as your context builds. You get the direct answer while the pressure is on, and the harder questions once there is room for them. If you want the full argument, with a 3-question test for which one you need this quarter: mentoring vs coaching.

What CTOs bring to the table

Six situations cover most of what lands on my calendar with CTOs. Each has its own page with the pattern, what you have probably tried, and how we tackle it.

The hub with all six, the FAQ, and the questions CTOs ask most: CTO coaching & mentoring

What it costs

Public pricing, so you do not have to book a call to learn a number: 430 EUR per session, 361 EUR per session for ELC members. The first quarter runs 2,580 EUR per quarter (6 sessions over 3 months).

You only pay for a session you rate 7 out of 10 or higher. Against CTO cash comp, one avoided director-level mis-hire or one board meeting that lands pays for years of it. Full pricing.

Why this coach

Built Mews into a $2bn+ unicorn: 8 to 80 teams, roadmap still shipping. Led engineering at Manta before IBM acquired it. 4+ years in the Bay Area as Principal Software Architect at Databricks. The pattern data behind the advice comes from 3,400+ unique sessions with engineering leaders in 17+ countries.

Still highly technical. Bullshit me on estimates, code quality, or architecture and I will ask to see the code. The full story.

Frequently asked

How is this different from the CTO mentoring page?+

Same person, same calendar, same pricing. The difference is emphasis: mentoring hands you the move, coaching builds your own decision system, and a real engagement starts mentoring-heavy and shifts. The mentoring page maps the six CTO situations in depth; start from whichever page describes your week.

Do you coach VPs of Engineering and Heads of Engineering too?+

Yes. The title matters less than the scope: an org of 30 to 300 engineers, a board or CEO to answer to, and delivery you own. The VPE-specific ground is mapped in the VP of Engineering role guide.

What does CTO coaching cost?+

Public pricing: 430 EUR per session, 361 EUR per session for ELC members, or 2,580 EUR per quarter (6 sessions over 3 months). You only pay for a session you rate 7 out of 10 or higher.

How often are sessions?+

Bi-weekly by default. Weekly if you are in the first 90 days, mid-crisis, or preparing for a board meeting. Monthly tends to be too thin for a CTO in an active seat.

VPE-specific ground: VP of Engineering: what the role owns