Jonathan Alzetta from Wooclap participated in SoftwareCaptains' 1-to-1 CTO Coaching. I was curious about his experience, so I invited Jonathan for a little chat. This is what he told me:

What challenges or concerns did you have before you started the CTO Coaching program?

I had a hard time growing in my role as a CTO/manager as our team grew. I had a lot of questions related to team management, motivation, and cohesion. I had a lot of unanswered questions on how to proceed, so I was feeling overwhelmed on how to solve those issues and prioritise them.

What result did you have after the CTO Coaching program?

I feel much more comfortable in my role now. I think that the team is more structured and less reliant on me (they're more empowered to make decisions) and they're always there to help each other and share their knowledge and experience within the team.

What did you like most about the CTO Coaching program?

Having someone with a similar background, but with a different work experience was helpful to give me a way to figure out solutions to my problems.

What else did you find interesting?

I like that you're not there to offer ready made solutions, but rather there to guide me along the way to find my solutions which fit me. There isn't a one size fits all, and the solutions might be different for each person. You're good at listening and asking questions to make me figure out the solution.
Having a regular call forced me to make progress on those challenges. In a startup, it's tempting to be too focused on the day to day tasks, rather than the long term.
I also liked that you got me in touch with people from your network (regarding SOC2 / ISO 27xxx cert). This helped me better understand the challenges involved in passing a certification.

Would you recommend the CTO Coaching program? Why?

Yes, I would. I am now definitely much more comfortable in my new role. Perhaps it would have been possible without the coaching program, but I'm convinced it would have taken much more time.

I probably should have made this decision to start the coaching program earlier because it removed quite a few obstacles.