The basic mechanism for coaching is a regular check-in meeting with a "top ten" list of issues facing the executive. It usually includes a frank discussion of the results of previous decisions to figure out what did and didn't work, and why. The benefit of this approach is that we spend our time together on the highest value engineering management decisions.

Engineers routinely subject design choices to peer review before an engineering decision is locked in, through practices such as FMEA, code reviews, design reviews and UI prototyping. One of the keys to success for such reviews is that the reviewers must be familiar with the problem domain and comfortable challenging decisions.

Coaching an engineering executive is similar. However, the top engineering executive probably doesn't have a peer within the company who is qualified and motivated to challenge his engineering management decisions - that is, an expert in the problem domain.

"This job spec is boring. What attributes are you really looking for? Is there somebody on LinkedIn who fits?"

"That schedule seems really optimistic. How will you keep it from slipping? What happens if you miss?"

"Here's how I put together the budget at another company."

"I know just the contract manufacturer we need."

"You know in your heart that giving him another chance won't make a difference."

The essence of effective executive coaching is to take advantage of the teachable moment. That is, when the executive faces an issue, consider both the issue at hand and a framework for addressing similar issues in the future. Seeing how to work through an issue and then seeing how the decision played out cements the lesson.

The most common objection to coaching is "Isn't that the CEO's job?"

The answer is "yes, but...". Most CEOs lack both the time and the domain expertise to drill down into the choices made by the engineering executive before they are implemented. The time the CEO and the engineering executive spend together should be focused on the strategic needs of the company, not second guessing the engineering executive. Of course, major decisions should be validated with the CEO, as they are jointly responsible for the success of the engineering program. If you find that your one-on-one meetings are dominated by discussions of past decisions, you need our help.

This relationship is one of the most important in the company. We've held both the CEO and the engineering executive roles and have lived the dynamics of both good and bad relationships.