Accelerate Your Tech Teams: Coaching Modes for Technical Leaders using CAMS

New
·

4 Weeks

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Cohort-based Course

Master the four modes of technical leadership: CAMS. Know exactly when to Coach, Advise, Mentor, or Support your engineering team.

20+ YEARS LEADING + ADVISING TECH TEAMS

Amazon
SmugMug
Together Labs
Lean Startup Co.

Course overview

8+ total hours of content: Coaching modes for Technical Leaders using CAMS

Transform your leadership approach, build trust and accelerate your team with the CAMS Framework for Technical Leaders.


COURSE CONTENT:

8+ total hours of content: This interactive workshop goes beyond theory to give you practical tools for knowing exactly when to Coach, Advise, Mentor, or Support your team members.


BONUS:

By enrolling, you will get a 1-year subscription to James' Continuous Growth paid newsletter comped at the end of the course ($170 value).


Learn the CAMS Framework

Through live sessions, hands-on practice, and real-world scenarios, you'll:

* Master the four development modes and confidently choose the right approach for every situation

* Build deeper trust with your team by meeting their actual development needs

* Break free from the "always coaching" trap that holds back many technical leaders

* Learn to read subtle signals that indicate which mode will be most effective

* Practice adapting your approach in real-time through interactive role-play sessions

* Get immediate feedback on your technique from experienced technical leaders


This isn't just another leadership course - it's a transformation in how you develop your team. You'll walk away with:

* A clear framework for making development decisions

* Practical techniques you can apply in your next 1:1s and team meeting

* Enhanced emotional intelligence for reading team dynamics

* A toolkit of responses for different development scenarios

* Greater confidence in your leadership approach

* A support network of fellow technical leaders


Live Q&A sessions ensure you can address your specific challenges, while workshop exercises let you practice and refine your skills in a safe environment.


You will learn to apply what you learn immediately to see real results with your team.


Limited enrollment to ensure personalized attention and maximum interaction.

Who is this course for

01

Ambitious Senior Managers from all disciplines at startups and large companies who want to improve their leadership skills.

02

Those managing large groups, managers of managers, including Amazon and Google L6-L7, Meta M1-M2, and Microsoft 66/67.

03

Also applicable to Senior Individual Contributors (ICs- Principal and Senior Principal at Amazon) and Managers of 2-5 reports.

04

What you’ll get out of this course

Master the four development modes using CAMS

Dive deep into the CAMS framework to understand Coaching, Advising, Mentoring, and Supporting, and learn to confidently use the right mode in any situation.

Build deeper trust with your team

By applying the correct development modes, you will earn the trust of your team by meeting their actual needs.

Build your confidence with immediate feedback and practice

Our sessions group experienced technical leaders in a safe learning environment to share experiences and learn from each other.

This course includes

4 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

2 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

Projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Apr 16—Apr 20

    Mar

    3

    Overview of the CAMS framework + practicum

    Mon 3/38:00 PM—10:00 PM (UTC)

    Welcome + Introductions

    0 items

    Introduction to CAMS: Coaching, Advising, Mentoring, Supporting

    1 item

    Live Practice: Using CAMS

    1 item

    Q&A + Discussion

    0 items

Week 2

Apr 21—Apr 27

    Mar

    10

    Session 2: The Science of Trust

    Mon 3/107:00 PM—9:00 PM (UTC)

Week 3

Apr 28—May 4

    Mar

    17

    Deep Dive: Non-Directive Coaching

    Mon 3/177:00 PM—9:00 PM (UTC)

Week 4

May 5—May 7

    Mar

    24

    Deep Dive: Advising, Mentoring, and Supporting

    Mon 3/247:00 PM—9:00 PM (UTC)

What people are saying

        James has an exceptional ability to blend emotional intelligence with technical expertise, offering guidance that aligns with both immediate goals and long-term growth. His coaching has helped me become a more connected, courageous, and effective leader, and I highly recommend him to anyone seeking to lead with both heart and impact.
Ed Essey

Ed Essey

Director of Business Value, Microsoft Garage
        James has equipped me with the skills to be an effective, approachable, and empathetic leader, enabling me to connect with my team more authentically and lead with greater confidence and compassion.
Rajeev Chandrasekaran

Rajeev Chandrasekaran

Head of Application and Firmware Engineering, Applied Cognition

Retired Tech VP & Amazon advisor turned executive coach, helping technical leaders develop coaching skills to build high-performing teams.

James Birchler

James Birchler

Tech VP & exec coach: 20+ years leading technical teams from startups to Amazon.

I've spent two decades guiding technology organizations through critical growth phases—from VP of Engineering roles at companies like IMVU, SmugMug and Caffeine.tv to Technical Advisor at Amazon.


Today, I advise startups and enterprises across the US and Europe while leading innovation practices in hyper-growth areas at Amazon.


My experience includes pioneering work at IMVU, where my team helped launch the DevOps movement in 2009 by deploying code to production 50 times per day—introducing the term "continuous deployment"—and working alongside Eric Ries to develop the Lean Startup methodology.


My approach combines extensive leadership experience with professional coaching training and certification from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. I help technical leaders navigate key inflection points in their growth journey—whether that's scaling teams, developing their leadership vision, or building high-performance cultures.


I focus on fostering self-awareness, integrity, and accountability while creating environments where continuous learning thrives.


Throughout my career, I've found that the greatest impact comes from helping people and teams reach their full potential. I'm passionate about sharing these tested experiences to help other technical leaders forge their own paths to success.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Accelerate Your Tech Teams: Coaching Modes for Technical Leaders using CAMS

Cohort 1

$795

Dates

Apr 16—May 7, 2025

Application Deadline

Apr 13, 2025

Course schedule

2-4 hours per week

  • 1X Weekly on Monday for 1 Month

    1:00pm - 3:00pm PST

    We'll meet Mondays for four weeks for 2 hours of live discussion and practice. Expect to spend another 2 hours per week practicing what you learn, and preparing to share your experience in the following session.

Free resource

CAMS Framework: Coaching, Advising, Mentoring, Supporting

Stop 'Coaching' Your Tech Team (And What To Do Instead)


Level up your engineering leadership with CAMS: Coaching, Advising, Mentoring, and Supporting, a framework to understand the difference in these modes of leadership development and when to use them as a technical leader and manager.


Get this free resource

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

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A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Accelerate Your Tech Teams: Coaching Modes for Technical Leaders using CAMS

Cohort 1

$795

Dates

Apr 16—May 7, 2025

Application Deadline

Apr 13, 2025

$795

4 Weeks