Thread by @SergioRocks

I became a Startup CTO very early in my career.

The biggest drawback I felt was becoming isolated into a role with high pressure to deliver, with a tight budget, at a time where my network was still small.

Joining roundtables with other CTOs was a game changer for me.

I remember in my first roundtable:

Moderator: "What's unique about you?"

Me: "I feel tremendous impostor syndrome. I feel that I'm failing and not keeping up with expectations"

Moderator: "Well, I' don't think that's unique of you"

Everyone: "Yes!" (all nodding in agreement)

Sharing experiences and vulnerabilities with like minded people was very important to me.

Suddenly I:
- Realised others have similar vulnerabilities.
- Learned how they handle them.
- Realised I'm actually doing ok.

I can only recommend people to join such "discussion forums".

I've joined roundtables from a few different places:

The one I recommend the most (free and not affiliated) is Rands Leadership Slack. Find me and other CTOs either in in the #startup-cto or #fractional-cto-vpe channels.

randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-ran…

I've also joined the CTO Craft Circles (paid and not affiliated) over the last couple years.

I found those interesting as well, with a model where you have monthly calls with the same people over a year. Becomes sort of a brain trust.

ctocraft.com/mentoring-circ…

Are there other such communities you'd recommend for CTOs and other tech roles?