Coaching with me
I coach professionals working in IT, communication and engineering roles, from helpdesk through to senior engineers, architects, security analysts, and operations. These are the people who keep the company running and rarely get coached, who give everything to the organisation and get back nothing that matters, who are a number on a spreadsheet to the people above them and indispensable to the people next to them.
I started as a junior network engineer and worked my way through technical consultant, solutions architect, IT and comms manager, CIO, and eventually Group Head of AI and Special Projects. Many career pivots along the way, each serving as a foundation to the next.
I have remained hands-on, including the years when I was supposedly too senior for it. I lost count of the times my manager told me to step away from the tools, and I ignored them every time. There were nights I took delivery of servers at home and got them ready for my team the next morning, or deep into firewall rules or switching config.
If you are working in IT now and the place is grinding you down, you do not need a coach who will be nice to you about it. You need someone who has been in your shoes and the shoes above yours, who can tell you which part of what you are carrying is the workplace and which part is you, and who will not flinch when you describe what is actually going on.
What kind of manager I was
I am direct. If I had a problem with your work, I told you to your face. Accountability stopped with me and was not something I outsourced. If someone from another department came shouting at someone on my team, they got me instead. If something on my team went wrong, the company heard about it from me, and the person responsible heard about it from me, in private. I considered it as part of protecting my team so they could focus on their work without the distraction of politics.
I held my ground against executive decisions that were not in the best interests of the company, not for sport but because I cared for each company I worked for and for my team. I came home many times and told my wife Charlotte that this time, for sure, I was getting fired. Though it never happened.
Each year I ran an awards night to celebrate the team's accomplishments, with dinner, drinks, and awards voted on by the team: Digital Leader of the Year, Consider it Done, and Rising Star for our junior and up-and-coming staff. The fourth, Inspirational Individual of the Year, I chose myself, given to someone the team naturally looked to as an example without anyone needing to spell out why. I paid for the trophies, the gifts, and the evening out of my own pocket, as a small way to give something back to the people who showed up every day.
Inaugural Information Technology Awards, 2022.
I left corporate to focus on family and to retrain as a coach. I had hit my own wall before that, and what got me through was clarity and good coaching, not willpower.
That is the coach you are hiring. The directness and the protection are the same thing, coming from the same place.
A standard session is 1 hour, though it could be shorter or longer depending on what you need. I listen to you and ask about the things you have been avoiding, give you space to think, and push back when something does not add up.
Who this is for
Still in it. You are good at your job and you care about the work, but you are surrounded by people who do not, or by processes that fight you, or by leadership that creates the problems you have to clean up. You are tired, frustrated, angry, or all of the above, and you are not sure how much longer you can keep doing this.
Considering the exit. You have passed that point and you are seriously asking whether to stay, move sideways, or leave. You have done the maths, you do not want a pep talk, and you want a thinking partner who understands the technical career and what it costs to walk away from one.
Already out. You have already left and you are working out what comes next. The skills that made you good in the old role are not the skills you need now, and the identity rebuild is harder than you expected.
Who this is not for
- Managers and executives.
- Anyone looking for validation.
- Anyone who wants a gentle approach.
Pricing
$200 AUD
Sixty minutes.
$700 AUD
Saves $100.
$1,000 AUD
Saves $200.
Credentials
What clients say
I have had a number of coaching sessions with Andrew and could not speak more highly of his skills as a coach. Andrew has a wealth of knowledge stemming from his life experiences and work history. I had sought Andrew's help and advice during a difficult time in my life when I was struggling both on the home front and my career and Andrew helped me navigate those challenges and come out the other side with tools and knowledge to not only strive but thrive.
Life can feel chaotic, like driving with the check-engine light on, but Andy guided me to powerful 'aha' moments I could put to work right away. He offered the focus, clarity, and direction I desperately needed.
Ready
Invoice issued after sessions. Please let me know in our first session if you would like a four or six session package.
If you are a coach yourself rather than someone looking for coaching, resources I curated for my own development are here. The philosophy behind this practice and everything on the site is described on the Muppitify® page.