Data Driven Coaching
The skills that made you senior won't make you a leader.
I coach engineering, data, and technical leaders, from senior IC to the C-suite through the move from doing the work to leading the people who do it. A sounding board who actually understands the work you do.
20+ years in Tech. ICF-certified. Stanford instructor.
The wall every technical leader hits
The best technical minds hit the same wall. The hard part is no longer the architecture. It's the ambiguity, the influence you now have to earn, and the executive presence the room expects. The skills that made you exceptional as an IC are not the skills that make you a leader, and I coach you through that gap with the same rigor you bring to your systems.
Everything is P0
(Too Many Priorities)
When every request is urgent, nothing ships. We separate signal from noise so your highest-leverage work goes first.
Great Work, Unseen
(Communication & Leadership Presence)
Technical brilliance does not speak for itself. We build the executive presence to influence without authority and to translate your work for non-technical stakeholders so it earns the credit and the buy-in it deserves.
IC habits, leader role
(Accountability)
The reflexes that made you a great engineer can quietly become your blind spots as a leader. We surface them and build the systems that keep you and your team accountable.
Who I Work With
I focus on one kind of client: technical leaders.
This is you if:
You’re a senior IC (staff, principal) who leads through influence, not a title.
You just stepped into management, or you’re about to.
You run an engineering, data, or ML/AI team.
You’re a director, VP or CTO making calls under real ambiguity.
You came up through the technical work, and now your impact runs through other people
Senior ICs stepping into leadership
The move from best engineer in the room to the person who makes the room better.
We build the judgment and influence that seniority alone never teaches.
Engineering and Data Managers
You were promoted for your technical work. Now the job is people, priorities, and outcomes.
We sharpen how you delegate, give feedback, and protect your team's focus as it and you, scales.
Technical Executives
Your calls set direction under real ambiguity and scrutiny.
We build the executive presence and the skill of translating technical strategy into business outcomes the C-suite demands.
The work is not vague. It is visible, measurable, and yours.
About
I'm Anja. I started in neuroscience research, then spent 20+ years building data and AI products. I still build. I teach data visualization with Python at Stanford Continuing Studies, and I coach the technical leaders building what comes next.
Because I still ship, I can tell the difference between a real technical constraint and a story you are telling yourself. Most coaches can't.
The higher you go, the fewer people you can think out loud with. Your team, your peers, and your boss all have a stake. I'm the sounding board who doesn't, and who actually gets the work.
Credentials
UC Berkeley Executive Coach Certification (2022) · ICF ACC · Stanford Continuing Studies instructor (Data Visualization with Python and AI for Business) · M.S. Computer Science, NYU Courant · B.S. Biology, SUNY Stony Brook
Client Success Stories
The leaders I coach have moved into bigger roles, earned promotions, and stepped into leadership.
“With her support, I was able to set clear expectations with my leadership, which not only aligned my career trajectory but also resulted in some immediate monetary benefits. Beyond her expertise in data and analytics as a product manager, Anja’s experience as a people leader made each session incredibly informative and valuable.”
Principal Data Engineer
“Working with Anja these past few months has been a transformative experience. Her leadership coaching gave me the confidence and clarity to communicate effectively and step into my role with authority and a different perspective. She provided practical strategies that helped me navigate challenges.”
Senior HR Leader
“She brought structure to what felt like chaos and her questions were tough, but they were never pushy. She always guided me to find the thing I wasn’t saying out loud.”
Senior Consultant
How We Work
-
We surface what is actually happening. Your real behavior, your real constraints, your real data. No vibes.
-
We test what works against evidence, not intuition. Benchmarks, honest scorekeeping, regular check-ins.
-
The best technical work is worthless if no one adopts it. The same is true of you. We turn your. technical strategy into. business outcomes non-technical. stakeholders can act on, and build the presence to. make your leadership land.
Data is the input to action.
Your life is not a simple algorithm. Contexts change and we will change with it through your journey. Seeing progress is possible.
What working together looks like.
1:1 over Zoom, 50 minutes a session.
Weekly or biweekly, whichever keeps you moving.
A focused 3-month engagement.
The first call is a fit check, both ways. You tell me what you're up against. If I understand the problem, and you can name it clearly enough that I can see you're ready to do the work, we start.
Who This Is Not For
This isn’t for you if you want a cheerleader, quick hacks, or someone who won’t push you. It is for you if you are willing to be measure and to do the work between sessions.
FAQ
-
Mentoring hands you someone else's answers. Therapy works on your past.
Coaching is forward-looking and about your judgment: I help you see your situation clearly, decide what to do, then hold you to it.
-
It works when it is concrete and measured, which is how we will run it. We set real benchmarks and track them. If something isn't working, the data says so and we change it.
-
Yes. Everything we discuss stays between us, and I work under the ICF Code of Ethics
-
Biweekly or weekly 50-minute Zoom sessions across a focused 3-month engagement, plus the work you do between them.
-
I work with senior ICs through the C-suite. If you lead technical people, or you're about to, you're in range.
-
Yes. I use AI tools to take notes so I can stay present with you and coach you better.
What we discuss stays confidential, between you and me. Recordings and notes are stored securely in GDPR and CCPA compliant storage.
You can ask me to delete your data at any time and I will. Otherwise, transcripts are kept for 90 days. Any notes or summaries derived from them are anonymized and kept for 18 months.
Work on yourself the way you'd work on a hard system
If that's how you'd want to work on yourself, let's talk.
20 minutes. Free. No pitch.