OUTRAGED RACOON COACHING

VP Eng | ILM Executive Coach | Neurodivergent | Queer | Chief Racoon Officer

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No-bullshit coachingfor the messy, human, hard parts of working in tech.

Val smiling in a garden

I've worked in tech for nearly two decades, from hands-on engineering all the way up to exec. I've seen some sh*t I tell you.

I'm Valerie Dryden, VP Engineering and Executive Coach. I work with engineering managers at all levels and folks in tech on the messy, human, hard parts of working in tech.

I've been in every room this work takes you to and I've seen every brand of chaos there is. From tiny start up to Series G unicorns.

You can get training from someone who has read about management. Or from someone who has lived it.

If you want corporate polish, I am probably not your person.

If you want autistic directness, kindness, hard-won judgement, and someone who knows the messy, ambigious life of working in tech, welcome.

What I Do

As an Executive Coach I use everything I've learned to coach people through the exact situations I've been in: the messy people issues, the difficult strategic decisions, the career crossroads, the overwhelm, the moments where you genuinely don't know what to do next and can't admit that to anyone.

Online course · Engineering Management First Aid

Holy Shit, I'm a Manager!

Should you still be coding? How do you have the conversation you've rehearsed in the shower for a week? What does good even look like? 52 bite-sized lessons, direct access to me, and the manual nobody handed you on day one.

5/5 from 14 managers

See the course · £400 One-time payment. Unlimited* access. No subscription.

Want it 1:1 instead? Pick your adventure.

Prefer someone in your corner for the hard, specific stuff? That's coaching. One session when something's on fire, or ongoing when the ground keeps shifting.

I'm an engineering manager and I'm out of my depth

You got promoted. Congratulations. Also: holy shit. Feedback, one-to-ones, conflict, team chaos, managing up — and the deeply cursed reality that there is no undo button for people.

EM coaching

I want more power, more credit, and less bullshit

You're good at this. That's not the problem. Career moves, burnout, masking, visibility, and deciding what the hell happens next — especially if you're neurodivergent, queer, or disabled.

Folks in tech coaching

Real people saying real things

"By September I'd been promoted to Director of Engineering -- much faster than I'd expected."

— Teri Drummond, VP Engineering @ Speechmatics

"It gave me the space to grow, learn, and become a better version of myself in an environment that truly felt safe and inclusive."

— Chamodi Lokuge, Software Engineer @ Thirdfort

"You will find it hard to find a more passionate people manager anywhere."

— Stephen Hill, Tech Recruiter & Meetup Organiser

"She has transformed the Technology organization in our time together."

— Tom Welch, Head of Engineering

"I spent half an hour talking to Val and everything changed"

— Engineering Manager @ MedTech

"Valerie has extraordinary listening skills and an uncanny ability to ask the right questions at the right time."

— Kishor Patel, VP Application Development @ Vortexa

From the blog

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