Hi, I’m Steve.

Here’s a bit about me…

If working in the tech industry for over 25 years has taught me anything, it’s that I enjoy working with people!

From starting as a coder, my career has been quite a journey! I’ve built it focusing on technical skills, leadership development, and scaling engineering teams.

I spent a decade building my technical skills while taking on more responsibilities as my experience grew, ultimately advancing to Principal Engineer and leading teams.

Realising how much I enjoy working with people, the natural progression was to an Engineering Manager. I spent 10 years in various EM roles working across different industries. I found myself drawn to coaching and mentoring engineers, figuring out how to build great teams, and tackling all those tricky challenges that come with managing people and projects across different teams. There’s always something new to learn when you’re working with distributed teams of all shapes and sizes.

More recently my experience is in Head of Engineering roles. My focus is more on strategic leadership, collaborating closely with senior leaders to align the Engineering function with the direction of the business objectives. One enjoyable part is I get to use everything I learned as an EM to help other engineering managers build teams that are both happy and efficient.

After years of seeing coaching transform leaders, and experiencing its impact firsthand, I wanted to create something that truly reflected my philosophy and approach. That’s why Steve Sitton Coaching was born.

I believe leaders need a safe place to share their thoughts and reflect. In our fast-paced tech world, we’re constantly in execution mode, jumping from meeting to meeting, decision to decision. But real leadership growth happens when you have space to pause, reflect, and think deeply about the challenges you’re facing.

I’ve watched too many talented leaders burn out because they never had that breathing room. They’re so busy solving everyone else’s problems that they don’t get time to process their own experiences, learn from setbacks, or develop their leadership instincts.

Steve Sitton Coaching creates that space – a place where leaders can step back from the chaos, explore their thoughts without judgment, and gain the clarity they need to lead more effectively. Through this process, my clients develop stronger self-awareness, make better decisions, rediscover their motivation, and approach their work with renewed energy and perspective.

It’s not just coaching; it’s giving leaders permission to think again.

Why choose me?

I’ve walked the path you’re on. I’ve experienced the challenges of being an individual contributor, the complexities of becoming a first-time manager, and the strategic demands of senior leadership roles. I understand what it’s like to navigate distributed teams, handle the pressure of scaling tech teams, and balance technical decisions with people management.

Whether you’re stepping into your first leadership role or looking to level up as a senior engineering manager, I bring real-world experience from the trenches – not just theory. I’ve made the mistakes, learned the lessons, and now I’m passionate about helping other engineering leaders avoid the pitfalls and accelerate their growth.

Also, I’m a qualified ICF coach and follow their Code of Ethics.

Interests

📚 I love reading and learning, a few books are below
📷 Photography, all types (+ I volunteer as a show photographer at my local theatre)
⚽️ Watching Fulham FC, we won it one time!
⛳️ Golf, still trying to break 80!

Books

As I mentioned, I love learning and reading is a big part of that.

Here are some of books that have helped me on my engineering leadership and coaching journey…