Episode description

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Zach Goldberg is a seasoned CTO and author of “The Startup CTO's Handbook”.

In this episode, you're going to learn the key lessons Zach gained from leading multiple startup engineering teams, common mistakes CTOs make when managing growth, how to build a culture of continuous learning and high performance, why external thought leadership matters for tech leaders, and much more.

Zach Goldberg is an executive coach, the author of the 10k+ GitHub star book, “The Startup CTO’s Handbook” and the CTO of Gruntwork. Zach graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering. He’s been the CTO of seven startups including WiFast, Sticks and Brains, AutoLotto, Trellis Technologies, GrowFlow, Towards Equilibrium Inc. and most recently Gruntwork, as well as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Tencent and an Associate Product Manager at Google.

Timestamps:

[01:34] Zach shares his journey from engineer to CTO  

[02:47] The origins of The Startup CTO's Handbook  

[05:11] Key lessons learned from managing engineering teams  

[06:18] Balancing management responsibilities in growing teams  

[07:39] Different challenges with various management styles  

[10:22] The value of culture in retention and hiring  

[12:02] Creating a culture of learning in tech teams  

[13:21] Ensuring managers support learning opportunities  

[15:31] Measuring coaching success with feedback loops  

[17:11] Why skip-level meetings can improve transparency  

[19:12] Benefits of connecting with lower-level team members  

[23:05] Encouraging documentation and writing skills  

[24:33] Why writing is a valuable skill for tech leaders  

[27:18] Writing documentation for different user perspectives  

[28:38] How consuming your own product builds empathy  

[30:36] Practical examples of fostering empathy in engineering  

[32:30] Zach’s advice for new CTOs entering growth organizations  

[33:30] How to handle mistakes and setbacks as a leader  

[34:44] Value of CTO coaching and leadership development

Want Zach Goldberg’s advice? Book a discovery call today to get an introduction to what Executive Leadership Coaching can help you achieve. 

 Find Zach through The Startup CTO Coach’s Website and on LinkedIn.

Resources Mentioned:

The Startup CTO's Handbook by Zach Goldberg | Book or Audiobook

Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet | Book or Audiobook 

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin | Book or Audiobook

Find more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube and check out Adam's CTO coaching company Synova Tech.