Leading Engineers to Water: The Art and Science of Developer Coaching

Software engineering may be difficult, but fostering a working environment that enables skilled engineers to perform their best can sometimes seem downright impossible. Every day, many engineering teams battle a whirlwind of forces, like unmovable deadlines, impostor syndrome, psychological safety issues, personnel/leadership conflicts, fierce technological preferences, and more. As a software engineering coach, Michael Migliacio's job is to not only introduce new technology to software teams but also strengthen their working relationships within their organization. Coaches aren't simply technical instructors. Rather, they are change agents that guide a team towards better outcomes for their project as well as their interactions with one another. Michael will discuss tips, tricks, and techniques that technical leaders and managers can utilize to better coach engineering teams, including concepts like the definition of empathy, the trust-influence cyclic relationship model, and a 5-step process to provide teams with confidence to own their solutions.