Technology Isn't Delivering.
You and Your Board Have Lost Confidence.
We embed with your team to build capability.
Then you'll know if your CTO can step up or needs to go.
The Pattern Repeats Everywhere
Every business depends on technology to grow and compete, but too many organisations have technology leadership that can't deliver what's needed.
You know the pattern. A CTO gets promoted before they're ready, or should never have been in the role. They build a team that looks like them, with the same gaps. Projects slip. The board loses confidence. The business gets frustrated. Everyone knows something's wrong, but no one knows how to fix it.
The Typical Response Doesn't Work
When technology fails, organisations try one of two approaches:
- Hire a new CTO and hope for the best
- Bring in consultants who write a report and disappear
Neither works. The new CTO inherits the same dysfunction: wrong team structure, poor practices, technical debt, and a business that's lost faith in technology. And the consultant's report? It sits on a shelf while nothing changes.
Here's Why Reports Don't Fix Dysfunction
Traditional consulting follows a predictable pattern. They interview people, analyse the situation, and deliver a 50 page report that tells you everything that's broken. You already knew most of it.
The report recommends changes. Hire better people. Implement better processes. Improve communication. All correct. All useless.
Why? Because knowing what to do and actually doing it are completely different. Your CTO lacks the capability to implement the recommendations. Your team doesn't know how. And the consultants who wrote the report? They're gone.
Three months later, nothing has changed except you're $50k to $100k poorer and the board is even more frustrated.
The Real Problem
The dysfunction isn't just in the CTO or just in the team or just in the processes. It's systemic. The CTO was promoted before they were ready. They hired people like themselves. The team adopted practices that sort of work but not really. Technical debt piled up. The board lost confidence. Trust eroded.
You can't fix systemic dysfunction with a report. You fix it by embedding with the team and building capability in real time.
That's what Embedded Leadership does.
What Makes Embedded Leadership Different
We Embed, We Don't Just Advise
We're in the room, in the meetings, coaching in the moment when it matters. Not writing reports from the outside.
We Coach With Proven Frameworks
We don't just recommend better practices. We bring them and coach everyone through implementation in real time.
We Build Capability, Not Dependency
Our goal is to build the capability needed to achieve your objectives. Once those are met, you shouldn't need us to keep things running.
We Report With Clarity
CEOs, boards, and leadership get regular, clear updates on what's working, what's not, and what needs to happen next.
We Help You Make Hard Calls
Sometimes the CTO steps up with the right support. Sometimes they don't. Either way, we bring the clarity needed to move forward.
Traditional Consulting vs Embedded Leadership
Traditional Consulting
Embedded Leadership
Our Belief
Being a technologist is not the same as providing technology leadership. True technology leadership is about being a Leader, an Innovator and a Technologist. A partner to the business who can deliver real impact.
We believe that only when technologists move from Order Takers to Impact Makers can they achieve their full potential.
And only when organisations build proper technology capability not just hire technical people can they use technology for competitive advantage.
How We Deliver Embedded Leadership
We work across three modes depending on what's broken in your technology function:
Coach
We develop your technology leaders through intensive 1:1 coaching. Most CTOs get promoted before they're ready. They're great technologists but lack the leadership skills to run a function. We work privately with your technology leaders to build the capability they need.
Enable
We embed in your team to improve how work actually gets done. Your team wants to deliver but something's stopping them. Bad practices, wrong structure, unclear priorities, technical debt piling up. We get in the room where work happens and coach the team to perform better.
Govern
We provide executive oversight and board level clarity. The board needs confidence that technology is under control. The CEO needs someone who can tell them what's really happening and what to do about it. We provide that clarity.
Most clients combine two or all three modes because technology dysfunction affects multiple levels. When delivery is broken, it's usually because leadership is weak AND the team lacks capability AND the board doesn't know what's happening.
Our Engagement Packages
We offer three packages that combine our modes based on where your biggest problems are. Engagements typically run for 3 to 6 months.
Strategic Package
Coach + Govern
Best for CTO capability gaps with decent team underneath. We coach the CTO intensively while providing executive oversight and clear progress updates.
Total Investment: $21k to $28k + GST
Tactical Package
Enable + Govern
Best for teams that can't ship or quality is poor. We embed with the team to fix how work gets done while providing executive clarity.
Total Investment: $36k to $45k + GST
Full Package
Coach + Enable + Govern
Best for when everything is broken. We work across all three modes to build capability throughout the entire function. Save $3k/month.
Total Investment: $40k to $60k + GST
The Result
After 3 to 6 months of embedded coaching, you get one of two outcomes:
Outcome 1: A high performing technology team that can deliver without us. Your CTO has stepped up. The team has capability. The board has confidence. Technology is driving growth instead of holding it back.
Outcome 2: Clear evidence that the current leadership can't step up, and a documented path forward. You know exactly what needs to change and who can lead that change. No more ambiguity. No more hoping it'll get better.
Either way, you have clarity and a path forward. That's what Embedded Leadership delivers.
Ready To Build A High Performing Technology Team?
Book a Technology Function Assessment. We'll spend 45 minutes understanding your situation and tell you honestly whether we can help.
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