You’re technically strong and feel comfortable building and shipping products as an engineer. You want to explore leadership roles, but you don't know where to go or how to get there.
You ask yourself if you should become a manager, a tech lead, or wonder what other options are out there?
You've just transitioned to a manager role.
It's great if you have a supportive manager who can mentor you, but you still have so many questions. Maybe you read the few management books on the market that everyone recommends. But as a new manager, you ask yourself, am I doing this right?
If you don’t know where you want to go, but just run fast, you can end up nowhere fast.
Engineers often think they need more technical skills to get to the next level. They study data structures, ML, Web3, or other hot technologies. For most engineers, that’s not what helps them get to the next level.
Being technically strong alone isn’t going to get you to the next level.
Together, we'll explore questions like:
Do I want to become a manager or a tech lead?
How can I have influence without authority?
How can I tastefully promote my self and my work?
How do I effectively communicate with my peers and manager?
How do I lead better 1:1s and performance reviews?
How do I delegate work to maximize the team's output?
How do I motivate and recognize my team to cultivate healthy team dynamics?
How do I find the best talent?
I’ve been working in tech for the past 20 years as an engineer, an engineering manager, and a team-builder. I was the 19th engineer at WhatsApp and worked with Facebook as an Engineering Manager for six years after the $19B acquisition.
Over time, I started to see a pattern: talented, hardworking people getting left behind—not because they weren’t capable, but because they didn’t have access or guidance. Now, I build tools, videos, and resources to help people navigate AI, and what’s next.
As a successful coach and mother of four, I feel called to help people secure their brightest futures. With Exaltitude, my trainings provide an inspiring mix of goal planning strategies, productivity techniques and leadership development insights — helping fellows tap into the power they have deep within themselves. In rare moments away from work or family life you can find me reading or whipping up some pescetarian keto deliciousness — not bad for someone who's first job was in a startup in 2000!
"For anyone new to tech, new to leadership, or simply looking for ways to level up as a human being, EXA is a godsend. The founders Jean and Soyoung are deeply experienced in their fields; just having access to their sage insight for six weeks is well worth the cost. Think of what it's like to have a thoughtful, articulate, caring senior engineering manager in your corner for the rest of your career. Add in the joy of learning and growing alongside a group of diverse, motivated new friends, and the benefits should be self-evident.
I landed an offer from Google shortly after completing EXA, and I couldn't be happier."
"If I approach my engineering career like learning a brand new coding languages, then EXA is the much needed mentorship to help master it. Most of the resources online are like "Hello World" program in the "Getting Started" section of the doc, they focus solely on helping one becoming an engineer, rather than mastering it.
EXA is a combination of Stack Overflow (peer to peer answers), Senior Engineer's help (experienced mentorship), well written docs (tangible tools and example to try out) to help us write less bugs in this new language, known as our career."
"Three programs from Exaltitude I found most helpful were the introductions to fellows, coaching from Soyoung, and the Live Sessions.
Greetbot introduced me to engineers with experience far vaster than my bootcamp or the one year of tech company experience. Time with Soyoung helped distill my most important tasks and how to stay focused during the workweek. Live Sessions gave me exercises for self awareness as I try to level up. The learning and support from Exaltitude helped me feel more ready to take on new challenges with confidence!"
"I was a mid-senior developer in the middle of finding a new job when I joined Exaltitude.
Through the program, I learned to view experience from the perspective of the companies and hiring managers. I realized I should highlight how my work helped not only my team but also the org. I also learned to back them up with data. I polished my interview answers with the new learnings from the program. To my surprise, I got a very senior-level position in my new company that I will be joining this month."
"After working in tech for close to a decade, I joined Exaltitude to figure out what I want to achieve next in my career. It’s easy to get distracted with work and other stuff happening in day to day life. The program helped me create space to focus on important questions—what am I looking for, how I’m learning and growing?
Now I think about how I can use the valuable lessons learned from Jean and Soyoung to help junior engineers at work, and it’s helping me grow as a leader."
The past eight weeks have been transformative for not just my career growth but also in my personal maturity. Before I joined the program, I felt parallelized, not knowing which path to take in my career. I left the program with so much clarity and now I’m happy with my role at Stripe.
Self exploration was highlighted on the website, but I didn't realize how powerful these exercises would be. I learned that more senior you get in your career, it is more important understand my strength, weaknesses and values. The lessons I learned through the program isn't something you can learn from reading books, and I’m so grateful for the program.
Exaltitude was an amazing experience for me. The self-exploration exercises, like the vision board and values exercises, combined with weekly goal setting and hearing from other engineers helped me discover what matters most to me for my life and career.
It's really good to meet people in tech that are in a place of abundance rather than scarcity. The Exaltitude fellows are all accomplished engineers invested in growth and learning. This was a huge contrast from other education and job seeking programs I've been apart of where students aren't as sure of their abilities.
"I've been a Software Engineer since 2014, and had recently started a new job as a Senior Software Engineer. During the program, I got valuable insights from Jean and Soyoung as well as other EXA fellows on how to level up in my career, identify my strengths, and promote myself.
I realized that my achievements might be empirically valuable, but if I can't demonstrate their value they won't help me move forward. We also got good insight into different communication styles and recommendations for books and resources tailored to help us move our careers in the direction we want to go."
"Being a first-time founder is like drinking from a fire hose - you're learning on the fly how to become a better manager, and how to best support everyone around you. EXA equipped me with tools to communicate more effectively, set goals that align with my value, and build a better support network of people around me. It also helped me better understand my values, strength, and weakness. The tools EXA equips you with, and the people you meet through the program will go a very long way!
If you want to reorient and boost yourself, both in a professional and personal capacity, EXA would be the program for you."
"I transitioned from a Product Manager role to Software Engineering a few years ago, and I joined EXA with the question, "What should my Software Engineering career look like?" I learned about myself in the process of deep introspections and met a good mix of peers from diverse backgrounds and experience levels (Senior SWEs and people at FAANG and Startups). I learned many tangible skills applicable to work and personal life, like time management and goal-setting. Now I have a clear understanding of where I want to go and how I can get there.
Soon after the program, I got promoted! Thank you Exaltitude!”
Receive the Job Hunter's Blueprint syllabus and program details.
Expect 2-5 hours of weekly commitment, consisting of live sessions, small group coaching, and community events.
The entire program is remote, and we have fellows participating from all over the world.
Weekly Leadership Circle Sessions:
Small group coaching sessions with founders on Wednesdays:
Mastermind peer groups:
Community events and talks:
Ideally, you have 3+ years of experience working as an engineer (various engineering roles such as Hardware, Product, and QA Engineers are accepted).
Regular program fee is $1498.
Aply by August 26, 2022.
* Get info on financial assistance here.
Each week, we’ll dive into a different topic that's crucial for your career development.
You must currently be managing at least one engineer on the start date of the program.
Regular program fee is $1998.
Apply by August 26, 2022.
* Get info on financial assistance here.
For the first six weeks, we'll cover the fundamental topics:
Then we'll take a deep dive into management principles:
On Mondays, we will upload the recorded session of the week, followed by self-paced exercises. You have until the Wednesday live coaching class to watch the recorded video. You can attend either 10 AM or 6 PM PST sessions on Wednesdays.
Weekly live group discussion sessions are for you to discuss and ask questions about the weekly topics with the support of the EXA Founders.
Bi-weekly peer group sessions are for you to work on specific topics with the other engineers. Groups are kept small (~6 people) to maximize your time together. Come to the group sessions with any questions related to the live sessions, work, or life in general.
You’ll get to indicate your preferred time and day for the groups.
Get access to the Slack to get your questions answered instantly. You'll be introduced to other EXA fellows.
You'll also get invitations to additional optional Career Conversation talks for members and alumni only, led by the Founders or EXA graduates.
Social events include a Welcome Party, Lunch socials, and Graduation. This is time for you to foster new connections and find ways to support each other. We hope you utilize this opportunity to build meaningful relationships.
All community events are open to alumni.
Receive the Job Hunter's Blueprint syllabus and program details.
Either keep doing what you’re doing or take a new action.
Don't let your career fall apart. Get the help you need to get ahead while others are left behind.
EXA does not want cost to be an obstacle to participation in our program. Learn more about Employer Sponsorship option and the EXA Scholarship program!
Learn more: EXA Financial SupportGet a deeper understanding of why the Exaltitude Leadership Circle Program is the right fit for you.
