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Draw the Definition of Done: A 5-Layer Playbook for Tech Leaders
It’s Monday morning. The release went out on Friday. The “Done” box is ticked in Jira. The deployment pipeline is all green. Your dashboards show a neat row of passing checks. On paper, this thing is live and healthy. Then you open Slack. Support is dealing with a spike in “something’s not right” tickets.SLOs are…
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Overcoming Parkinson’s Law in Technology Leadership: Speed Through Constraints
Parkinson’s Law causes work to expand to fill time, scope, and capacity. This guide shows tech leaders how to design visible constraints such as Decision Dates, PR size caps, WIP limits, and FinOps guardrails, and measure impact with DORA metrics. Grounded in real case studies (Google, Basecamp, Dropbox), it includes a manager’s checklist and one-week…
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How to Be an Effective CTO
How can you, a newly appointed CTO, stand out among the senior leadership team? In other words, how can you prove your worth at the senior executive level? Based on Julian Costley’s lecture from CTO Academy’s Digital MBA for Technology Leaders and several live sessions with our alumni, this article unpacks practical strategies and, more…
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Combating the Peter Principle in Technology Leadership
Do you believe that competence in yesterday’s role is a viable reference for suitability for the new one? If you do, you’re not alone; however, in practice, that belief often backfires. It’s called the Peter Principle. This article unpacks why even the smartest technologists can plateau at the top, how that plateau affects product vision…
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words…#32: Analytical
Being “Analytical” in tech leadership means harnessing both critical thinking and mixed research methods to make informed decisions. Analytical leaders delve deeply into data, using a blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis to gain comprehensive insights. This dual approach allows them to not only interpret vast arrays of numerical data but also understand the subtleties…
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Build Your Personal Board of Advisors
Even When You’re the Only Tech Leader in the Room You’re the lone tech voice at the table, juggling sprint fires, budget trade-offs, and late-night architecture calls—and no one really gets the weight of each decision. It’s the leadership paradox: the higher you climb, the fewer sounding boards you have. Yet research shows that 70…
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Tech Leaders’ Guide to Building Resilient Remote Engineering Teams
Whenever they must manage distributed teams, technology leaders face the dual challenge. The first is driving outcomes. The second is nurturing a coherent, connected culture. This playbook offers a step-by-step guide to building resilient remote engineering teams equipped to thrive across time zones and communication barriers. 1. Assess Current Team Structure Start with a situational…
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words…#31: Innovative
Innovation in the tech industry extends far beyond the creation of new gadgets and software; it encompasses novel approaches to operations, strategy, and organisational structure. True innovation involves rethinking how things are done, aiming for efficiency and effectiveness in achieving or creating outcomes. For example, the shift from traditional agile methods to more holistic approaches,…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#30 – Decisive
In the fluid and constantly changing world of tech, decisiveness is crucial, particularly in agile teams that often operate with a flat hierarchy and are expected to be autonomous. However, this structure can sometimes lead to a scenario where “too many chefs and not enough cooks” impede swift decision-making. Being “Decisive” means cutting through the…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#29: Adaptive
Adaptability in tech leadership is the ability to change one’s approach and strategy to meet new challenges and environments effectively. It is a trait that allows leaders not just to respond to changes but to thrive amid them. Bruce Lee’s famous philosophy, “Be like water”, perfectly encapsulates this idea. Water is flexible; it flows into…
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Addressing Pivotal Challenges in Organisational Working Practices
Recently, we surveyed technology leaders and engineers to explore the key difficulties organisations face regarding contemporary work arrangements. The study presented participants with a list of potential challenges and recorded the frequency with which each was identified. As you can see, sustaining creativity and innovation was most frequently selected, closely followed by fostering a sense…
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Maintaining Data Integrity in Challenging Environments
Start-ups and scale-ups often prioritise quick decisions to maintain their competitive edge, which can lead to shortcuts in data analysis or overreliance on intuition. The impact is often immediate because hasty decisions based on incomplete or improperly analysed data can result in missed opportunities or strategic missteps. This is particularly true when data is fragmented…
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How to Create a Robust and Flexible Decision-Making Framework
It’s challenging to create a truly immutable decision-making framework, especially in dynamic environments with conflicting priorities. However, you can create a robust and adaptable framework that provides consistent guidance while allowing for flexibility when needed. Here’s a possible approach if you are managing two conflicting departments dependent on each other’s productivity (eg, CPTO role): 1….
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How to Improve Developer Productivity – Guide for Tech Leaders
Rebecca Murphey, the Field CTO at Swarm, delved into improving developer productivity in a recent CTO Shadowing session we hosted. However, she did not focus on zooming in on individual developers even though there’s talk on LinkedIn about how some 10% of them aren’t doing any work. Instead, Rebecca dealt with teams working together to…
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Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity – Expert’s Perspective
This article is based on a CTO Shadowing session with Bryan Seely, an ethical hacker and cybersecurity expert. Bryan is a former marine who, by his own admission, wiretapped the US Secret Service and FBI. Later, he worked with John McAfee and Mark Cuban and founded the Black Hat Conference in Riyadh in 2021. Importance…
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CTO’s Role in Cybersecurity: Complete Guide
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the responsibilities of a CTO in ensuring their organisation’s cybersecurity. It covers the following topics: Specific duties and tasks regarding cybersecurity (eg, developing security strategies, implementing security measures, managing security teams, etc). How does the CTO collaborate with other roles such as the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer)…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#28: Resilient
Resilience in technology leadership encapsulates more than enduring tough times; it’s about thriving amidst the many challenges and rapidly evolving scenarios that you’ll face. Successful tech leaders understand and sometimes anticipate the obstacles that will be placed in their path but can adapt their strategies and view failures as catalysts for growth. They’re able to…
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Year In a Worklife of a Scale-up Chief Technology Officer
Recently, we had Emily Castles, CTO at a scaling start-up, Boundless, joining us for her fourth CTO Shadowing session. She reflected on their journey over the past year and, by doing that, provided an exclusive look into the challenges of a scale-up Chief Technology Officer who has to recover from severe financial cuts and consequent…
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Your First 90 Days in a CTO Role
Many tech leaders will start a new senior position whether as a promotion or a new job at a new company. I know how daunting it is to take a new position. You can do as much research as you like, but there will always be surprises. On the bright side, you do have those…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words… #27 – Inspirational
In tech, “Inspirational” means sparking passion and pushing for breakthroughs, not just through words but actions. For example, inspirational leaders empower and help others discover how to overcome obstacles, welcome new ideas, and see mistakes as learning chances. They build teams that believe in their power to make a difference, guiding them with a clear…
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CTO Priorities in Start-ups and Fast-Growing Businesses: Exploring New Frontiers
This work not only discusses CTO priorities and focus areas but goes beyond, introducing emerging technological trends that could soon become your top interest as a Chief Technology Officer. It provides insights into established and emerging technology priorities, focusing on innovative solutions for enhanced productivity, operational excellence and growth. The reason for that is a…
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Conflict Management in the Workplace
In the tech industry, workplace conflicts are quite common. For instance, a study found that 85% of employees experience some form of conflict at work, with tech environments being particularly prone due to the high-pressure nature of the industry. One notable example is the frequent disputes over project strategies and technical disagreements. These conflicts, if…
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Designing Remuneration Packages Best Practices
Our Digital MBA for Technology Leaders covers a wide range of business, technology and skills-related topics. One of the lectures in Module 1 (Leadership & Teambuilding) goes into detail about remuneration packages and renegotiating better terms for yourself. It is one of the responsibilities of every technology leader that is not limited to the onboarding…
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Onboarding Developers – Guide for Technology Leaders
When onboarding developers, you must always consider these four elements: technical empowerment, mentorship and collaboration, clear expectations and goals and continuous learning and growth. So think twice before delegating the entire process to HR without your direct supervision. That said, before we lay down the onboarding program, we should quickly go over these elements and…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words… #26 – Agile
In the software development world, “Agile” has transcended its initial methodology to become a cornerstone of modern tech culture. Yet, its widespread adoption has led to misconceptions, often diluting its core principles. Agile, fundamentally, is a philosophy centred around flexibility, continuous improvement, and a relentless focus on delivering value to the customer. It’s not merely…
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Self-Leadership is Key – MBA Lecture Summary
In this article — effectively a summary of the lecture in our Digital MBA for Technology Leaders — Andrew Bryant, business coach and public speaker whose book on this subject is used in MBA programs worldwide, explains what self-leadership is, why you need it and how to develop it. What is Self-Leadership? Self-leadership is the…
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Role of Perception in Leadership and How to Change It
How often have you asked yourself, “How could my partner, colleague, or employee have misread my intended communication so badly?” This MBA lecture summary provides the answers, strategies, and suggestions for changing other people’s perceptions of you as a leader and person. We all live in a constant duality between how we see ourselves and how…
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How to Set Up and Run a Productive Meeting
Meetings can easily become an onerous element of any leader. When they’re scheduled back-to-back, they a) consume more time than you thought they would and b) don’t solve a thing. With this article, we want to ensure that, if a meeting is needed, you have the exact tools to make it productive, engaging and, finally, get…
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words…#25: Collaborative
The essence of collaboration in tech leadership revolves around creating a culture where a common mission, openness, complementary strengths, and collective problem-solving are the pillars. Each team member, with a clear understanding of the overarching goals, contributes uniquely towards achieving breakthroughs.
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Responsibilities, Strategies and Necessary Skills of an Effective Technical Leader
A technical leader bridges the gap between technical teams and business objectives. Unlike general managers, they possess strong technical expertise and can therefore guide engineers and developers. In contrast to tech specialists, however, they have strong leadership and communication skills. The role comes with the long list of responsibilities that we are explaining in this article.
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Enhancing Collaboration with a Principal Engineer at TechGlobal
An Engineering Manager (EM) at TechGlobal Ltd seeks advice on improving the working relationship with a Principal Engineer (PE) who, despite having extensive experience and a strong principled approach, poses challenges in team interactions and project progress.
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Why and How to Switch to Design Thinking Leadership Model
Constantly evolving user needs and expectations are challenging traditional leadership styles. That’s why technology leaders are switching to a design thinking model which is, basically, a human-centred approach to problem-solving. Design thinking focuses on understanding user needs and experiences to create innovative solutions. Such products and services resonate with their target audience. This article explores…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#24 – Vision
Visionary leaders possess an innate ability to predict trends, envision revolutionary products, or foresee shifts in consumer behaviour long before they become apparent to others.
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Beyond Technical Expertise: Mastering the Art of Tech Leadership
Strong tech leadership provides a compelling vision and roadmap, improving team focus and motivation. Combined with a culture of trust and open communication, it creates a high level of psychological safety for the team. In turn, such a team is more open to risk-taking, innovation and honest discussion of challenges. Here, we explain how to…
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The Metric Mirage at AgileX Solutions
AgileX Solutions, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company encounters a significant challenge when its non-technical Chief Executive Officer (CEO) mandates the use of quantitative metrics to gauge the engineering team’s performance. This requirement starkly contrasts with the perspective of the Head of Engineering (HoE), who advocates for a more nuanced, holistic evaluation approach….
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#23 – Influence
Duality of influence requires a leader to be perpetually mindful of the broader impact of their actions, ensuring they embody the values of integrity, responsibility, and forward-thinking they wish to see in the world. By actively mentoring, engaging in thoughtful dialogue, and leading by example, influential tech leaders can harness their reach to herald technological…
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CEO-CTO Chasm at InnovativeTech
This case study spotlights the need for harmonising business drive and technical stability, managing technical debt, fostering team resilience and responding effectively to crises. It invites readers to contribute ideas for better CEO-CTO alignment and ends as a parable warning of the dangers of strategic misalignment in tech companies.
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words #22 – Mentoring
Mentoring in tech is not just about navigating the complexities of coding or system architecture; it’s about understanding the ecosystem, predicting technological trends and manoeuvring through the dynamics of tech teams and projects. Effective Mentoring significantly reduces the learning curve for emerging tech talents, thus offering them a roadmap to navigate challenges and seize opportunities…
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Balancing Team Support and Executive Pressure
Mia, an Engineering Manager, has led her team through several successful product launches, earning praise for their creativity and dedication. However, a challenge from senior management casts a shadow over these achievements. The team’s hard work is starting to take its toll, not due to Mia’s leadership but from the VP of Engineering’s intense pressure…
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Aligning the Sense of Urgency Among Diverse Tech Teams
In a rapidly growing technology company, the engineering, product and platform teams exhibit significantly different senses of urgency regarding project delivery and innovation. This misalignment leads to delays, frustration, inefficient workflows and, ultimately, loss of a competitive edge. Our Global CTO Community offers actionable advice.
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Senior Engineer Struggling to Meet Expectations
The CTO of a start-up is facing a challenge with a Senior Engineer who, despite a promising start and strong technical skills, is delivering work far slower than expected. This situation has arisen after replacing a previous bad hire and deciding how to “delicately” proceed. Our Community offers advice.
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What’s All the Fuss About Tech Debt?
91% of global tech leaders identified tech debt as a ‘major concern’. So in this article, we take a deep dive into tech debt with contributions from five senior technology leaders across the CTO Academy community. They will provide their perspective on the problem and potential mitigation strategies towards the solution.
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Addressing Leadership Challenges in Cross-Departmental Collaboration
An organisation has embarked on a new journey, setting cross-departmental objectives that necessitate seamless collaboration among the subteam leaders from different departments. A team lead, Anisha and her PM counterpart, Gabriella, are at the forefront of this challenge. But they are in conflict with each other.
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Field CTO Job Description w/ Salary Breakdown & Career Prospects
In this post, we explain the relatively new Field CTO role and how it differs from a more traditional Chief Technology Officer role. We will see how a Field CTO job description determines the type of person suitable for the job. We will take a look at the job prospects and, of course, the average…
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Navigating the Leadership Labyrinth – A New Head of Engineering’s Journey
Three months ago, Justin embarked on a pivotal journey as the new Head of Engineering at a startup, following the departure of the previous CTO. Commanding a team of eight, encompassing software developers and testers, Justin’s experience as a former team leader had primed him for this role. Yet, the path to leadership is often…
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Managing Developers: Preventing Over-Reliance and Blackmailing
When a business becomes over-reliant on one or two key developers and they become aware of it. It leads to a form of ‘developer blackmail’ that makes managing developers extremely difficult.
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IT Manager: Role, Responsibilities, Skills and Average Salary
An IT Manager (a.k.a Information Technology Manager) oversees and manages IT operations, systems and infrastructure. Additionally, they serve as a connection between technology strategies and the broader goals of the organisation. As such, they a) ensure the efficient, secure operation of IT resources and b) nurture the overarching objectives of the business. Common types of…
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words – #21 Knowledge
For the modern CTO, knowledge generally comes wrapped in three forms … Technical This is often about building a T-shaped skill set, with a general awareness of different technologies, alongside a deep understanding of at least one. This helps you to sharpen your BS antenna about what does and doesn’t “feel” right. Domain An understanding…
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Mental Health in the Workplace – A Tech Leaders Perspective
It’s the elephant in the room that, as a leader and human being, you need to be aware of perhaps more than any other in the workplace.Mental health …How to manage it for yourself and;How to spot issues affecting those around you. Because despite it becoming a topic more openly discussed than in the past,…
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What’s the Value of a CTO?
As many of you will be aware, one of our key missions at CTO Academy is to see a CTO on every board. A part of that mission is to research the real value of a CTO. Now, we can all agree that it is nonsensical not to have deep technical knowledge at the board…
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The AI Debate – How Is It For You?
No matter how hard you might try, you simply can’t avoid it; AI is everywhere and is here to stay. But what’s the view of today’s technology leaders about tomorrow’s reality?How will it impact their role as they face ever-increasing expectations around the how, where and when of implementing an AI strategy? Because it seems…
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CTO Job Description with Responsibilities, Qualifications and Salary Breakdown
In this post, we explain a CTO job description on four levels of engagement: start-up, fast-growth company, enterprise and, finally, a Group Chief Technology Officer. You will learn responsibilities on each level, understand desired qualifications and, ultimately, find out what kind of salary you can expect considering the size of your company and industry. TABLE…
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CTO KPIs with Templates and Tracking Procedures – Explained by a Seasoned Chief Technology Officer
In this post, Jason Noble, Academy’s Chief Technology Officer, explains the design of highly relevant CTO KPIs and shows you how to a) track them and, more importantly, b) use them to improve performance. Now, the odds are that you’re either a CTO in a start-up or fast-growing company or soon to become one. That…
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What is the optimum size for a tech team?
Price’s law (competence is linear, incompetence is exponential) pertains to the relationship between the literature on a subject and the number of authors in the subject area, stating that half of the publications come from the square root of all contributors. If 100 papers are written by 25 authors, five authors will have contributed 50…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#20 Confidence
I’ve been asked to write a short piece on the impact of confidence in leadership.1st, how do I keep it short?2nd, which angle do I start with for this many tentacled topic?Because whether we talk about true confidence, projection, self-doubt and/or the ever present Imposter syndrome, how we deal with these issues will likely have…
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Building an Effective Chief Technology Office on Different Business Scales
It is now common for a team leader or project manager to find themselves placed in the CTO’s shoes at a moment’s notice. Often, this brand-new executive is forced to form a Chief Technology Office out of thin air and without any help. This is the challenge facing what we call the accidental CTO. At…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#19 No
My biggest flaw as an entrepreneur was a lack of judgment about when to say yes (a natural inclination) and when to say no (suffering from FOMO).The uncertainty of start-up life meant that I wanted to keep all options open as long as possible which of course, proved completely counter productive as it diluted the…
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CTO Responsibilities in Start-Ups and Fast-Growth Businesses
CTO responsibilities stem from their pivotal role in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape. Chief Technology Officers, as the top executives, hold the reins of the organisation’s technical vision, strategy and execution. What is the primary responsibility of the CTO? The Chief Technology Officer leads the development and execution of the company’s technical strategy. Hence, the…
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Interim CTO: Responsibilities, Onboarding and Power Transfer Process
An Interim CTO is a temporary executive responsible for overseeing and guiding the company’s technology strategy and operations during a transitional period. Companies hire interim CTOs on a short-term basis, either due to a sudden departure of the previous CTO, a planned leadership change or while searching for a full-time CTO. (Don’t mistake an Interim…
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Practical Solutions to Common Challenges of a Remote CTO Position
In this article, we are a) examining the most critical challenges of the Remote CTO role and, more importantly, b) providing practical solutions.
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Tech Leadership in so Many Words…#18 Team
There’s a reason why the shelves of your local bookstore are heaving under the weight of so many management books.It’s because managing people is tough and would be a lot easier if it wasn’t for the people.But clearly it’s a prerequisite for anyone with leadership ambitions so the question is this: How to most effectively…
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The Path to Becoming an Exceptional IT Director: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspiring Technology Leaders
This extensive guide provides aspiring technology leaders, such as software engineers, with valuable insights into the responsibilities, skills, experience and knowledge necessary to embark on a successful journey towards an IT Director role.
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What is a Deputy CTO and How to Become One
Learn what is a Deputy CTO, what the path to becoming one looks like and how to best prepare for a job interview.
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Tech Leadership in so Many Words…#17 Perfection
“Perfect is the enemy of good” – Voltaire I am not and never have been a perfectionist, something of a mixed blessing in the past.Some start-up projects went out too soon, were half-baked from the start and met with the underwhelming results they deserved. Whilst other projects went out too soon, but hit the ground running…
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What Makes a Good CTO: Essential Qualities for Technology Leaders
In this blog post, you will learn what makes a good CTO from the perspective of experienced and successful technology leaders and their CEOs.
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Part-Time CTO in Today’s Business Landscape: Role & Expectations
A part-time CTO is a technology expert who works on a part-time or consulting basis for a company. The aim is to develop and implement the company’s technology strategy and oversee all aspects of its technology operations and product development.
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Role of a Chief Technology Officer in Different Business Sizes
Generally speaking, the role of a chief technology officer involves strategic management and execution of technology initiatives within an organization. It is, therefore, pivotal in shaping and implementing the technology roadmap while aligning it with the company’s overall goals and vision. What enables tech leaders to drive innovation, oversee development and infrastructure, ensure data security…
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words … #16 Health
Keep an eye on your health by learning the art of marginal gains
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words… #15 Humility
“Life is a long lesson in humility” J M Barrie Having reached a senior tech leadership role, you have the right to feel a sense of pride in your achievements.But leadership requires many things from you, not least a quality that’s the opposite of pride – humility. Humility requires you to leave your ego at…
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What is the Future of Leadership in the Technology Sector?
Unprecedented advances and transformative trends are reshaping leadership in technology sector. As the rapid pace of technological innovation continues, the tech industry faces unique challenges and opportunities. The intersection of artificial intelligence, automation and data-driven insights demands visionaries who can effectively navigate this complex landscape.
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words … #14 Motivation
When you’re a leader, motivation is a two-sided coin. One side is Personal Motivation and what’s driving you. The other is Team Motivation and what’s driving them.
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What is a Fractional CTO and How Do You Become One?
A Fractional CTO is a chief technology officer who provides on-demand services to a company or organization. In other words, it is a freelance contract that implies working for a fraction of the time and cost and just on the part of the project as opposed to full- or part-time CTO positions.
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words … #13 Change
If there’s one constant in our lives, it’s change. So we look at three key areas of change you will have to negotiate in your journey as a technology leader
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words … #12 Politics
Managing corporate politics is never easy for technology leaders but in some organisations can be a fact of life. We look at where you should focus your energy in dealing with this issue.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #11 Strategy
Shaping strategy is a key role for any Chief Technology Officer and so it’s crucial for you to create the environment that gives you the space and time to become an effective strategist for your organization.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #10 Delegation
Delegation is one of the hardest skills for technology leaders to master.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #9 Mindset
Moving into technology leadership roles requires a fundamental change of mindset from being one of the team, to leading the team.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #8 Vulnerability
Vulnerability builds trust and elevates performance.It sits alongside empathy and authenticity as a triumvirate of the soft skills that help leaders to earn the trust and buy-in of those they lead.Research shows that leaders gain much by showing just a little vulnerability and as Brene Brown explains “being vulnerable in the workplace means replacing professional…
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #7 Responsibility
You have responsibilities and power as a leaderthat impacts directly on people’s livesJack Welch formerly CEO at General Electrictalked about the leader as “Chief Broomer”like those you see at the Winter OlympicsIn the sport of CurlingClearing stuff out of the waySo the people around them can act and do the thingsThat the organisation needs He…
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The Unwritten Laws of Engineering
One of my favourite business and engineering books is probably one you’ve never heard of – The Unwritten Laws of Engineering by W.J. King. Originally published in 1944 as three articles in Mechanical Engineering Magazine, the flagship publication of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). There is likely to be little in this book…
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #6 Ideas
The leader’s job isn’t to have all the ideas. It’s to make sure all the ideas are heard and that the best one wins.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #5 Trust
We have all worked in places where the team doesn’t trust the leader. Where the leader doesn’t trust the team. It rarely ends well.
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Effective Tech Leaders, Anticipate The Need
What if you could anticipate every problem, issue or obstacle in life before they occurred? Effective tech leaders are able to anticipate more than most.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #4 Empathy
What empathy is and should be … is understanding an employee’s struggles, appreciating a person’s point of view and engaging in a healthy debate that builds to a better solution.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #3 Perception
To become a successful leader you need to acknowledge and understand how perception affects your relationship with other people and from that, your ability to lead.
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Deep Listening and Adopting a Zulu Principle
To be an effective leader you need to acquire the skill of deep listening. Here is a Zulu principle that might help.
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Improving the Cybersecurity of your Company: The Complete Guide
There is no doubt that cybersecurity in companies is more important than ever. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts cybercrime will cost the world in excess of $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #2 Self
Being a CTO is much easier (or at least less challenging) when working on something you love rather than a motivation driven by less intrinsic factors, pressures or rewards.
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Tech Leadership, In So Many Words… #1 Curiosity
What makes the difference in leaders? Curiosity stands out amongst a leading quality …
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10 Steps for CTO`s to Improve Their Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking skills are vital in any leadership role, but when you’re leading the technology arm of a business it takes on even greater importance – both for the key decisions you need to make and for the technical people you need to lead. A CTO needs to be able to reason, understand and solve…
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7 Steps to Become an Effective CTO
1. Define your vision for your future by setting goals When it comes to setting goals, many people fall victim to the “goal-setting paradox.” This is when a person sets unrealistic or uninspiring goals and then does not follow through with them. It’s important to be careful with what you set your goal as. It…
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5 Ways An Organisation Can Fail Its Digital Transformation
We live in a dynamic era one in which a new trend today can become a way of life tomorrow. Those who don’t adapt to these changes are at risk of falling significantly behind. It can be worse for organisations because those who don’t adapt are at risk of perishing.
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Time To Let It Go …
So here is the scenario … I’m running as fast as I can alongside my 5 year old son’s bike, initially holding onto his seat to make sure he does not fall. I’ve made sure we are on a quiet road and there are no cars or obstacles for him to seriously hurt himself. Now…
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No-One Ever Told Me …. It Gets Lonely At The Top
What is your expectation of an effective leader? Confident. Knowledgeable. Charismatic. Good Orator. Natural Leader. Inspiring. Expert. But in addition, how about lonely and/or isolated?
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Forget Tech Change, It’s Culture Change That Matters Now
Managing change has always been at the core of a technology leader’s job description but whereas 10-15 years ago the focus was on tech change, today it’s more likely to be people and culture change that a tech leader has to deal with.
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Build Yourself A Personal Firewall
It’s not only computer systems that need a firewall but anyone in a tech leadership position needs to build one for themselves.
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Are you a Thermostat or a Thermometer?
An article exploring the difference between thermostats and thermometers and how it applies to leadership and the teams we lead
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What does a Startup CTO do anyway?
CTO jobs are pretty nebulous at best, what a CTO does is ill defined and never well understood, we’re lots of different things to lots of different people.
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Creativity : It’s What Makes Us Shine
Creativity has helped many people through the pandemic but what’s the science behind when that creative moment arrives?
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How Our Hiring Strategy Changed, When We Went For Growth
Back in 2012, I started a two-man agency in Manchester with aspirations of becoming the goto company for helping SMEs achieve digital transformation. We had to start with the basics which meant websites, apps, print … yep, you name it, we probably had a tender for it at some point. We were soon given the…
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Effective Hiring for Technical Talent
To be successful as a technical leader you need an exceptional technical team but the good news as a leader, is that you own the responsibility to build and grow that team.
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Managing The Negative Team Member
Managing a negative team member is never easy so this article looks at how it can be handled.