Technical Leader Blueprint - Kimberly McDermott, PhD

The Technical Leader Blueprint

You became the expert. Now you're becoming the leader experts need.

Share your challenge → get personalized leadership insights and actions

"The resulting Blueprint was spot on and pulled everything together in a way I did not expect." — Sean D., Assistant Professor, A.T. Still University

"It helped me see patterns I hadn't noticed and gave me actionable strategies I could use right away. I honestly wish I'd had this sooner." — Gretchen, Analyst, UCSF

5 questions

5 minutes

Free

Confidential

Immediately useful

Built by

Kimberly McDermott, PhD, PCC — 9+ years coaching scientists and technical experts across industries and academia

Powered by a coaching framework grounded in ICF competencies and EQi 2.0

See what you will get

Here is a real example of a blueprint.

Here is an example from a leader who values collegial relationships and tends to avoid conflict. Scroll through — then start the tool to get yours.

The Technical Leader Blueprint

Sarah, here is your personalized blueprint.

Developed by Kimberly McDermott, PhD, PCC — Kimberly spent years as a scientist before becoming a coach, she knows this terrain from the inside.

Here Is What I Am Noticing...

You care deeply about how feedback lands, and that care is the very thing keeping you from delivering it.

You said it plainly: "I just don't always know how to be honest without damaging the relationship." That is not a lack of courage. That is someone who genuinely reads people, genuinely cares, and has not yet found a way to put honesty and care in the same sentence without one canceling the other out.

The result is months passing, hints dropped, a message softened so much it does not land clearly, and a growing knot in your gut about a conversation that now feels harder than it ever needed to be.

What This Is Costing You

The leader you want to be is someone your team both trusts and respects, and right now, the avoidance is quietly eroding both.

Every week this underperformance goes unaddressed, the rest of your team notices. They may not say it, but they are drawing conclusions about what gets tolerated and whether direct, honest leadership is something they can count on.

Meanwhile, the person who is underperforming has been denied the clarity they need to actually improve. The cost is not just one awkward conversation. It is the credibility you are building — or not building — as a leader who tells the truth with care.

The Pattern Underneath

The Empathy Shield

Your empathy is functioning as a shield against discomfort rather than as a tool for honest connection.

This pattern makes complete sense. In technical and scientific work, being precise and thorough is how you earn trust. So when feedback feels risky, the instinct is to add more context, more justification, more softening. It is a rational response learned from years in environments that reward careful framing over blunt delivery.

Your blueprint will be personalized to your specific challenge and situation.

Step 1 of 5: The Challenge

As a leader, what feels challenging or stuck right now?

Pick the one that is most important right now

Step 2 of 5

Help Us Understand This Better

Step 2 of 5: Help Us Understand This Better

Step 3 of 5

Identify Patterns

When challenges hit, we all have behaviors or mindsets that can get in the way. Even strengths can be overused.

This is not about beating yourself up. Noticing what tends to show up is a powerful first step.

Step 3 of 5: Identify Patterns

When challenges hit, what mindset or behavior tends to trip you up?

Select all that apply

What does that look like for you? optional — the more detail, the more personalized your blueprint

Step 4 of 5

Your Strengths

Your strengths are your accelerators. Calling them out helps you use them with more intention. The better you know your strengths, the more power they give you in moving forward.

Step 4 of 5: Your Strengths

At your best, what strength do you lean on most?

Choose your primary go-to strength that most applies to this situation

Share an example of using this strength. optional — the more detail, the more personalized your blueprint

Step 5 of 5

Trade-offs

Work often pulls in two directions at once. These trade-offs are normal. What matters is noticing which side you tend to favor so you can rebalance when needed.

Step 5 of 5: Trade-offs

Which of these tensions feels truest right now?

Pick the one that is creating the most friction in your current situation

Which direction do you tend to lean? (particularly when things are stressful) optional — the more detail, the more personalized your blueprint

Your Technical Leader Blueprint

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Building your blueprint...

Analyzing your responses with a coaching framework

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Reading your challenge and friction points

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Identifying patterns and strengths

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Applying coaching framework to your situation

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Generating personalized insights and actions

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Preparing your blueprint — this takes about 1 to 2 minutes