My name is Ivan Petkovic
I am a leadership coach and consultant with a passion for helping organisations to close the gap between business (KPIs) and engineering (product development).
And in this constantly changing VUCA* world, I help individuals find their bearing and their voice.
I firmly believe that communication skills are essential for managing complexity in growing product organisations.
*VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
Soft and hard skills coming together
Today's products are built by teams consisting of many roles, expertise and often different cultural backgrounds. With that come differences of opinions and diversity, which is hard to navigate. This leads to small disagreements that, left unchecked, can lead to conflicts, resentment and toxic work culture.
The answer is not to eliminate diversity, but to learn to integrate different perspectives. This leads to the best possible solution for the user, organisation and the individual.
*non-binding first call
What you can expect from my coaching
Most of the work in organisations today is done in teams. In the best teams I have worked with, individuals had exceptional communication skills. This is especially true for leaders. Unfortunately, too often teams, departments and organisations are built solely looking at expertise (hard skills).
Someone who was an excellent expert now struggles in a people manager role. Or someone who was a great team leader is struggling when becoming a head of department. Many are then left to their own devices to fill the gaps, and some are not even aware that there is a problem. And oft their people managers rarely have time, expertise or see the problem themselves.
This is where I come in helping both the individual and, if needed, their people manager.
I believe coachee should pick their coach, and not the other way around. That is why we typically start with a quick (video call) meeting. During that meeting, we get to know each other and dive into the situation at hand. Afterwards, I propose a custom coaching program for coachee to evaluate and decide if we proceed. Important part of the program is to have a clear coaching goal which is aligned with the coachee and their people.
Usually coaching starts with a three to six months program where we meet once a week in the first months and then reduce frequency to every two weeks. At the end of the coaching period, we review what was achieved and discuss if there is a need to extend.
Is this speaking to you? No matter what is your seniority, if you believe you or someone you are responsible for needs help, let's get in touch.
Transforming organisations
in complexity
Topics I normally tackle are organisational development, Scaled Agile ways of working, leadership development, product ops and project & process management in tech organisations. I have experience in leading and building cross-functional teams and executing company-wide initiatives.
All these topics have one thing in common:
ways of working that enable individuals to do their best work.
*non-binding first call
What you can expect from my consulting
How to get anything done when organisations and projects are so complex? And can we "reduce complexity"? Unfortunately, usually not.
This is because the nature of product and software development is complex. It is building a new user value in an ever-changing competitive market. And working with people is often difficult, adding to the complexity. Then what can you do? You can learn how to navigate and manage the complexity.
This is easier said than done.
But you don't have to do it alone. I can help you find tradeoffs between business demand and organisational culture. I can help you with my experience and a fresh outside perspective. And I can help with the needed change that is always part of a new venture. All of that while making sure that your employees and colleagues are not left behind. It is demanding, but necessary to remain competitive and develop the products users are delighted to come back to.
Need to start (yesterday)? Having too much and needing help to sort it out?
I can help you and your organisation to transform. Let's get in touch.