Fast Forward Growth
LeadCTO propels technical leaders forward with focused coaching and mentoring, tailored to tech leadership's unique challenges. Our direct approach and drive for excellence push you to grow and outdo yourself, accelerating your growth as a leader.
Mentor / Coach for Technical Leaders
Individual
Monthly coaching sessions to help you work through specific challenges and grow as a leader.
No long-term commitment
Intro call always free
CTO & CEO
The best way to keep your CTO happy and performing well is to share their coaching journey and work on bridging the gap from both sides.
Weekly sessions
3 month minimum
Team
Increase your technical leadership team’s effectiveness together. We identify their gaps and I help fill the gaps with a focused coaching plan and accountability.
Custom program
3 month minimum
What People Are Saying
“If you get the opportunity to work with Krijn in any capacity, don't pass it up. Krijn is one of those rare Executives that possesses an incredible business mind coupled with profound technical depth and genuine servant leadership. He is a natural coach and mentor that without a doubt elevates everyone he works with.”
— Chris Vasquez, Founder @ Quantum
“Krijn entered my journey in a challenging time … Krijn's coaching was invaluable in that process. He helped me understand where we were, where we needed to head, and how I could chart an effective path by leveraging my leadership style and strengths. I continue to hear Krijn's voice in my head daily. I owe a good part of my success - and some personal happiness - to his support and guidance.”
— Tony Wright, Sr Director of Software Engineering @ AppFolio
“I wholeheartedly endorse Krijn for his outstanding coaching and mentoring capabilities. He has a remarkable talent for swiftly building trust, developing an understanding of an individuals' professional journey, and guiding them towards achieving their goals. ”
— Adam Hansen, Director of Engineering @ Best Buy Health
My journey as a mentor / coach
Servant leader from the start
I guess my leadership style has always been more that of a coach than a manager. My first job out of college was leading a small dev team building web applications. I was barely an adult and was supposed to manage developers with much more experience, including one who was twice my age. It felt weird. Maybe it’s a Dutch thing, but although I’ve always been determined and had strong opinions, telling other people what to do always felt weird to me; I’ve never felt like a “boss”. So instead, I try to listen to the others on my team to underhand their motivations and incorporated their ideas into our solutions. It just seemed to work better. My natural tendency to see what could work better - and my direct communication style - gave us a clear path to success. I carried this style forward throughout my career.
Rapid growth, but I hit a personal ceiling
This eventually led to a unique decade at GreatCall, where my personal growth almost perfectly lined up with the growth of the company. We went from startup to $300M ARR and a big exit while I was there, growing from Sr SE to CTO. For years we took challenges in stride, but I had one weakness:
I didn’t know to ask for help
That all changed when one of my key peer relationships was bad, and I got the opportunity to work with a leadership coach.
I knew I couldn’t say no.
I’m so glad I accepted the help from my coach to learn me and grow.
Continued growth; now with help
My coach and I improved skill after skill together, he gave me books to read, and I became a happier and more effective person. It was transformative to say the least. I opened up to help from others, too, like my mom for example, who suggested I read “The Four Agreements”. I should have been listening to her earlier. I kept growing and things were great until I hit another ceiling; It was one my coach couldn’t help with:
We were trying to sell the company and we had to prepare for technical due diligence. I’d never been through that, but I used my new superpower and asked for help.
My CEO and other advisors gave me encouragement, but I needed more: practical advice from someone who had done it before. I didn’t get what I needed… We did fine in the end, but this it kept gnawing on me. Later I joined 7CTOs where I was exposed to a wealth of experience and great mentors, and realized what was missing: Mentorship
Becoming a mentor / coach myself
At 7CTOs I joined a forum of peers and eventually became the forum facilitator. I learned from the excellent coaches and facilitators there and started to understand the difference between coaching and mentoring, but also that you sometimes need a bit of both.
This is why I love to coach and mentor
Most of us have what we need to succeed already, and someone can help unlock that in us.
But there’s not always the time to learn everything the hard way; sometimes you just need someone who has been there to show you how.