We discuss the four modes of coaching and navigate career growth in expanding / contracting companies with James Birchler. James’ shares highlights from the recent coaching / mentoring workshop he facilitated, and breaks down how each mode of coaching differs tactically. We also cover the dilemma of linear career/leadership growth vs. exponential company growth, different common communication challenges eng leaders face, why people / organizational challenges are harder than technical issues, and how to prepare for & execute uncomfortable conversations. James also shares his unique journey to technical leadership & how past management roles – even in non-tech spaces – have helped shape his thoughts on coaching & eng leadership today.

ABOUT JAMES BIRCHLER

James Birchler is an engineering leader, startup CTO advisor, and executive coach. He is currently VP of Engineering at Caffeine. Previously, he was VP of Engineering at IMVU, where he implemented Lean Startup methodologies alongside Eric Ries and the early IMVU team. His leadership practice is based on mindfulness and nonviolent communication.

SHOW NOTES:

Highlights from James’ recent coaching & mentoring workshop (2:41)
Shared challenges around building trust in eng teams (5:25)
The differences between coaching vs. mentoring (7:01)
Building trust in order to best support your team members as a manager (9:38)
Defining the advising mode of coaching (11:54)
How supporting differs from advising (14:29)
The story behind James’ technical leadership journey (16:55)
Transitioning from a PhD program & environmental planning career into tech (20:19)
The dilemma of career growth: linear leadership growth vs. exponential company growth (23:53)
Why organizational challenges are more complicated than technical puzzles (26:49)
Navigating career growth during company contraction from the employee perspective (28:02)
Preparing for uncomfortable conversations as a coach / manager (31:50)
Strategies for actually having those tough conversations (35:36)
Frameworks for helping others identify what they want (37:58)
Rapid fire questions (42:44)

LINKS AND RESOURCES

Stop 'Coaching' Your Tech Team (And What To Do Instead) - James’ substack post on the four modes of development breaking down the core differences of coaching, advising, mentoring, and supporting roles and explaining how trust is the secret ingredient to all four.
jamesbirchler.com - James’ website where you can find info about his executive coaching and resources for engineering leaders and founders.
How to lead with radical candor | Kim Scott - NYT bestselling author, Kim Scott, has cracked the code on giving valuable feedback in a way that builds genuine relationships, drives results, and creates positive workplaces.
What Are People For? - In the twenty-two essays collected here, Wendell Berry conveys a deep concern for the American economic system and the gluttonous American consumer. Berry talks to the reader as one would talk to a next-door neighbor: never preachy, he comes across as someone offering sound advice. In the end, these essays offer rays of hope in an otherwise bleak forecast of America's future. Berry's program presents convincing steps for America's agricultural and cultural survival.
New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong - Happiness expert Stephanie Harrison draws upon hundreds of studies to offer a life-changing guide to finding the happiness you have been looking for, all based on a decade of research and brought to life with beautiful artwork.
Accelerate: Building and Scaling High-Performing Technology Organizations - Through four years of groundbreaking research, Dr. Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim set out to find a way to measure software delivery performance—and what drives it—using rigorous statistical methods. This book presents both the findings and the science behind that research. Readers will discover how to measure the performance of their teams, and what capabilities they should invest in to drive higher performance.
Conversations on Science, Culture, and Time: Michel Serres with Bruno Latour - Although elected to the prestigious French Academy in 1990, Michel Serres has long been considered a maverick--a provocative thinker whose prolific writings on culture, science and philosophy have often baffled more than they have enlightened. In these five lively interviews with sociologist Bruno Latour, this increasingly important cultural figure sheds light on the ideas that inspire his highly original, challenging, and transdisciplinary essays.

This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:

Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-Host

Jerry Li - Co-Host

Noah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/

Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan’s also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/

Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/

The four modes of coaching & navigating career growth in expanding or contracting companies w/ James Birchler #202

The Engineering Leadership Podcast