Group Mentoring for Developers

Ongoing growth and support, together with other developers.

As a developer, you're good at your craft.

  • You break down larger problems into smaller, logical steps.
  • You test your code automatically.
  • Your commit messages and comments are useful and valuable.
  • You automate everything that needs to be done manually too often.

But you still face a number of challenges.

  • You tend to hope that you'll finish on time, which means you indicate too late that you're unfortunately going to overrun.
  • You sometimes have trouble saying "no", even when a schedule is unrealistic.
  • You keep underestimating how much work certain things cost.
  • You're sometimes seen as "too technical" in discussions with non-techies.

Sound familiar?

A one-time training helps for a while: but most developers slip back into their old patterns. What actually works is ongoing support: help when you need it, in a safe group that faces the same challenges.

Group mentoring combines the depth of 1-on-1 guidance with the power of a group: you learn not just from me, but also from the experiences and questions of other developers.

With group mentoring, you always have a mentor in your corner: someone who keeps you on the right path and supports your growth, week after week.

How it works

The program consists of three components that together create real, lasting growth:

1

Weekly group session (1 hour)

Every week we meet in a small group. You bring your own challenges and questions. We discuss concrete situations, share experiences, and I give targeted feedback and practical tools. No theory: just direct help with what's on your mind that week.

2

Monthly deep-dive (2 hours)

Once a month we go deeper on a specific topic: ownership, communicating with stakeholders, architecture choices, prioritization. Sometimes this is a session I lead, sometimes a guest speaker with specific expertise.

3

Slack community

Between sessions you have access to a private Slack environment where you ask questions, share experiences, and get feedback: from me and from other participants. Growth doesn't only happen during the sessions.

Not a one-time training, but real behavioral change through ongoing support.

What you'll learn

The sessions focus on the skills that make the difference in your daily work as a developer: not about code, but everything around it:

Fundamental skills

  • Ownership: taking responsibility for your work
  • Communication: clear and effective communication
  • Clear agreements: creating clarity and managing expectations
  • Accountability: being reliable and delivering results

Practical approach

  • Effective development processes: how to set up an efficient process
  • Understanding customer needs: figuring out exactly what the customer needs
  • Architecture principles: choosing the right architecture for the problem
  • Prioritization and focus: what to do first and why

Who is this for?

You're a developer who wants to grow beyond purely technical knowledge

You notice that soft skills make the difference, but you're not sure how to develop them

You want to make more impact in your team or organization

You're not looking for a one-time training, but for ongoing support and a group of like-minded peers

You find it valuable to hear how others deal with the same challenges and to learn from that yourself.

Joost Vunderink

About me

With more than 25 years of experience in software development, architecture, and team leadership, I've seen what distinguishes the best developers: and it's rarely pure technical knowledge. I help developers take the steps I had to learn myself, but without the detours.

Note: if your company is located in the Netherlands, you may be able to use the SLIM subsidy to cover (part of) this group mentoring.

Prefer 1-on-1 guidance? Mentoring offers personal sessions tailored entirely to your goals.

Interested in group mentoring?

Group mentoring starts on July 1, 2026. Before you join, we'll have a no-obligation introductory call, to see whether there's a good fit between you, me, and the group.

Let me know below who you are and what's driving you. I'll reach out to schedule a call.