Your expertise got you here.
Influence will take you further.

You deliver results, solve hard problems, and know the technical landscape better than most. Yet somehow, the people shaping decisions and advancing faster are not always the most capable ones in the room.

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// The Challenge

Does this sound familiar?

Research shows intelligence strongly predicts job performance, yet it barely predicts income or career progression. Something else is driving who moves ahead.

P1

People with less technical depth are advancing faster

You watch colleagues with weaker technical understanding gain influence, shape more decisions, and move ahead. It's confusing. And quietly frustrating.

P2

Your ideas gain traction only when someone else presents them

You raised it months ago. Then someone else said it in the right room, to the right people. And suddenly it became important.

P3

Growing your influence feels like "playing politics"

You have little patience for self-promotion or organizational games. You'd rather focus on meaningful work, and you believe that should be enough.

P4

Confidence in technical settings, uncertainty in leadership ones

When the problem is technical, you're in your element. When the room shifts to strategy, politics, or people dynamics, something feels different.

P5

You wait to have all the answers before speaking

Your instinct is to be certain before you commit to a position. In leadership contexts, that precision can read as hesitation, costing you influence in the room.

P6

Excellent work is not translating into recognition

You keep delivering. You keep contributing. But the path to broader impact and bigger roles feels unclear, and the gap between capability and progression keeps growing.

There is nothing wrong with you. You have simply reached a stage where new capabilities become essential. Almost no one teaches technical professionals how to develop them.

// Services

Bridging Competence and Influence

Coaching engagements for technical professionals who want their ideas to reach the people who can act on them, whether individually or as a team.

Individual

1:1 Leadership Coaching

For technical professionals who consistently deliver results but feel their influence inside the organization doesn't match their capability. We close that gap, without asking you to become someone you're not.

  • Build influence without playing politics
  • Communicate ideas so they gain traction at the right level
  • Develop leadership presence that feels authentic, not performed
  • Understand how decisions are actually made, and engage earlier
  • Progress your career without compromising integrity or values
  • Fully confidential · bi-weekly sessions · ICF methodology
Team

Team Coaching

For technical teams where individual capability is high but collective performance is held back by dynamics, misalignment, or trust gaps. The team is coached as a single system, not a collection of individuals.

  • Surface the patterns limiting collective performance
  • Build psychological safety and honest communication
  • Align on shared goals and how decisions get made
  • Resolve friction between technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Develop team accountability that doesn't depend on the leader
  • Grounded in ICF Team Coaching Competencies
// Why Work With Me
Rafael Valbon
ICF Associate Certified Coach
ICF Accredited Associate Certified Coach

Our Differentiators

I'm Rafael Valbon. What sets this practice apart isn't just the coaching methodology. It's the combination of real technical credibility, lived leadership experience, and a global perspective that most coaches simply don't have.

Technical Expertise

Electrical engineering background with over a decade of leadership experience at global market leader companies. I understand the technical world from the inside.

Real-World Practice

Internal coach at ASML, actively coaching multiple technical professionals and leaders. This isn't theory. It's coaching practised daily inside one of the world's most complex high-tech environments.

Global Perspective

Multicultural experience from living and working in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands. I bring a rare ability to coach across cultural contexts and navigate diverse, international team dynamics.

Professional Credibility

ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), trained and credentialed to the International Coaching Federation's rigorous, globally recognized standard.

// Client Stories

What Clients Are Saying

Real results from technical professionals who leveled up their leadership.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"When I reached a state of career frustration, a conversation with Rafael put me on a whole other path. He reminded me of who I am and rekindled my motivation. After just a few sessions I had several options, and I'm now in a role more aligned with my values. It was transformative."
AN
Anna Nikolaenkova Design Engineer
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Rafael has an incredible ability to guide self-discovery. He didn't provide predefined answers but guided me through the complexities of leadership, helping me refine my own approach. A rare mentor who combines deep leadership knowledge with a genuine commitment to your growth."
SP
Sasanka Pratapa Product Owner
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Rafael is a talented and inspiring coach with a structured mindset, passionate about guiding conversations toward clear accountability. He offers persistent support through active listening. His dedication and approach make a significant impact."
BB
Baharak Bakhtiari Business Manager
// The Process

How Coaching Works

A structured engagement with a clear beginning, middle, and end. You always know where you stand and what comes next.

01

Discovery Call (Free · 30 min)

We explore your situation openly: where you are, what's holding you back, and whether coaching is the right fit. No pitch, no pressure. If the timing isn't right, I'll say so.

02

Mapping the Gap

We identify precisely where your competence is not translating into influence: the specific patterns, dynamics, and decision-making environments that are limiting your impact. This becomes the foundation of your coaching focus.

03

Structured Coaching Engagement

Bi-weekly 1:1 sessions combining deep reflection with practical application. Between sessions you experiment in the real world, building influence skills through action, not just insight.

04

Measurable Progress

We track outcomes against concrete goals. Broader scope, clearer career direction, ideas that gain real traction. The measure of success is not what happens in sessions. It's what changes in your organization.

If any of this sounds familiar,
you are not alone.

Many highly capable technical professionals reach a point where they realize that competence alone is not enough. Understanding influence is the next essential step. Let's explore what that looks like for you.

Free  ·  No commitment

Book a Call
// FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know before booking your first call.

No. And this is one of the most important distinctions we work on. Influence is not self-promotion or political maneuvering. It simply means making sure good ideas reach the people who can act on them. That requires understanding how decisions are made, engaging key people earlier, and communicating in ways that resonate. None of which requires you to compromise your values or become someone you're not.

Research shows that intelligence strongly predicts job performance, yet it barely predicts income or career progression. Early careers reward technical excellence, and that model works for a long time. But as roles become more senior, success begins to depend on influence, relationships, and understanding how decisions actually get made. Almost no one teaches technical professionals how these dynamics work. That is exactly why coaching exists.

Clients commonly report that their ideas gain traction earlier, that they feel more confident and clear in leadership conversations, and that they understand how to navigate their organization more effectively. Tangible outcomes include promotions, expanded scope, and career transitions into roles with broader impact. The measure of success is always what changes in your organization, not what happens inside the sessions.

Most engagements run between 3 and 6 months with bi-weekly sessions. The right duration depends on the depth of change you want to create. We agree on this together during the discovery call. You will always know exactly what you are committing to before you begin.

Yes, always. Everything shared in our sessions is fully confidential, governed by the ICF Code of Ethics. If your employer sponsors your coaching, they receive no content from our conversations. Only confirmation that sessions are taking place, if explicitly agreed in advance.

Mentoring gives you advice from someone else's experience. Training gives you frameworks to learn. Coaching helps you develop your own answers through structured questioning, reflection, and real-world action. It's forward-focused and entirely tailored to your specific situation, not a curriculum someone else designed for a generic audience.