I did not start out as a leadership coach. I started as a software engineer.

Over 20 years, I worked my way from QA and engineering into product management and eventually to VP of Development. Along the way, I led teams through a company turnaround, significant growth phases, and a successful acquisition. I made the mistakes most new managers make, while actually responsible for real outcomes.

What I kept noticing was that smart, talented engineers became managers and immediately struggled. Not because they lacked intelligence or work ethic, but because the role demands skills the path up did not require them to build. The books help a little. The well-meaning advice helps a little. The gap between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it is where most managers get stuck.

Holloran Leadership exists to close that gap.

The Philosophy

We are at an inflection point for software organizations. Management layers are thinning. The pace of change is accelerating. The managers who remain are more visible, more accountable, and more exposed than ever before.

The organizations that will navigate this well are not the ones with the best strategy documents. They are the ones with managers who can actually execute, adapt, and bring their teams with them. Managers who are not consumed by change but who drive it.

That kind of manager does not appear by accident. The work starts with identity, not with a skills checklist. Managers who try to adopt new behaviors before they have settled who they are as a leader find that the behaviors don’t stick. Holloran Leadership is built on the conviction that identity comes first, and skills follow from it. That’s what makes the development durable rather than a workshop that fades by week three.

Stronger managers. Stronger organizations. The recursion is the point.

How I work with software organizations

There are two ways I engage with software organizations today.

Manager Atlas is an 11-week cohort-based leadership development program for software managers at an inflection point. Cohorts run 4-8 participants, with 1:1 coaching woven into the group work. Sponsors fund seats; managers do the work.

Software Leadership Advisory is ongoing 1:1 work with a senior leader on a software team. The focus is the leader's development under the actual demands of their role. Sponsors engage me directly when a leader's growth matters enough to fund structured 1:1 work over a meaningful timeframe.

The two are related but distinct. Atlas builds managers through cohort and structured curriculum. Advisory works with senior leaders 1:1 around their specific situation. Some organizations engage both. Most start with one.

Credentials and Background

• 20 years across QA, Engineering, Product Management, and VP of Development roles

• Led through company turnaround, major growth, and successful acquisition

• ICF ACC credentialed

• Founder of Holloran Leadership, creator of Manager Atlas