Helping doers work bigger
What challenge are you taking on?
Moving from a job you know, taking more responsibilities, you can feel like you stepped over the edge. The big picture isn’t clear. You need to balance team needs with the business, and communicate to people who don’t know the work you do.
Here’s something solid: knowing the work from the inside like you do, you’re already ahead of any random manager.
You understand how a bit of the business works, and how if you change one thing, it affects others. You know that through doing, not only through slides and spreadsheets. Now you can apply that hands-on approach at a different level, to processes and relationships you haven’t walked with before.
And that's what we could work on together.
Coaching and mentoring
Some of what you're facing you'll work out by doing. But some of it is hard to see when you're inside it — especially while you're still trying to perform.
That's where coaching helps. Not by telling you what to do, but by giving you the space to think more clearly about what's going on, what's getting in the way, and what to do next.
We'd work on the three things that made you feel like you stepped off the edge:
Seeing the bigger picture — not as a vague skill, but as a practical habit: understanding what your stakeholders really need, where your work has the most pull, and how decisions above and around you connect to the hands-on work.
Holding your team and the business at the same time — without letting either one down. This is less about strategy and more about how you show up when the two are in tension.
Getting your ideas across — to people who don't share your frame, your priorities, or your knowledge of the work. This is a skill. It can be learned.
The work is collaborative. You bring the knowledge of your world. I bring the questions, the push, and straight talk when that's what's needed.
About me
I’ve directed groups across complex matrix organizations, aligning and driving clear understanding with executives and everyone else.
I’ve successfully strategized and budgeted and built and prioritized; I’ve helped design organizations, and hired and trained and had crucial conversations.
But the thing I feel best about is that I’ve helped many doers become effective leaders and communicators. And I hope to help many more.
“Joe has exceptional interpersonal skills, acting as a coach and mentor to many”
— Chris C, Senior Director of Network APIs & Solutions
