The Smartest Investment for Your Network
Broadband network operators are spending billions upgrading their networks. Fiber is going in the ground. New architectures are rolling out. AI tools are reaching field technicians faster than they can be trained to use them. And yet, the operators pulling ahead aren’t always the ones with the newest technology. They are the ones whose teams absorb change, solve problems, and bring others along with them.
That advantage doesn’t come from infrastructure. It comes from people who know how to develop capability in others.
The role that doesn’t have a title
In every high-performing operations team, there are individuals who make the people around them better. The technician who walks a newer crew member through a technology upgrade rather than just doing it themselves. The lead who turns a mistake into a learning moment. The engineer who asks the right question instead of handing over the answer. They are not always supervisors. They rarely have a formal coaching role. But their presence raises the floor for everyone around them.
This kind of leadership is almost never developed deliberately. Organizations promote strong technical performers and hope the coaching follows. Sometimes it does. When it doesn’t, the gap shows up in how long it takes teams to absorb technology changes, in rework rates, in inconsistency across crews, and in knowledge that never spreads beyond the people who already have it. As contractor and partner workforces play a larger role in operations, the cost compounds.
Coaching is not mentoring
Coaching is a learnable skill built around asking the right questions at the right time and creating the conditions where someone works through a problem on their own. It is one of the most effective forms of on-the-job development because it happens in the moment, in context.
That skill is becoming more valuable, not less. AI can troubleshoot, guide decisions and even walk someone through a task. What it cannot do is develop judgment, accountability, and situational awareness. That still falls to people. Someone still has to read the environment, own the outcome, and help others grow into doing the same. The role of the technical coach is not diminished by AI. It is becoming more important and more interesting.
What SCTE designed
You don’t need to build entirely new content to develop better technical leaders. You need the right mix of content, a clear framework, and a way to ensure people apply what they’re learning. That is why SCTE designed the Certified Technical Leader and Coach (CTLC). CTLC brings together university-grade coursework in engineering management and technical leadership, cohort-based peer learning, and a dedicated facilitator who guides participants through the entire program.
It is built for technical professionals in the field, engineering, and operations roles. The core of the program is applied coaching where participants log dedicated one-on-one coaching sessions with colleagues working through challenges. 50 hours at Level 1, building to 300 at Level 3.
There’s another piece that matters. The coursework counts toward an online Master of Engineering in Engineering Management, and it doesn’t require a prior bachelor’s degree. For a technician or field lead who didn’t take a traditional college path, that changes the equation. CTLC isn’t just a credential. It’s a path into a graduate degree; built around the work they’re already doing.
Networks are getting more advanced. The work is getting more complex. The advantage will come from the people who can develop others in the middle of it.
The pilot cohort launched April 20, 2026, with 45 participants selected from hundreds of applicants across the industry; approximately half from the field. For more information visit scte.org/certified-technical-leader-and-coach-program.
