THWS#094: The Real Skills You Need To Become A CTO

So you want to be a CTO or senior tech leader? I just wrapped a brilliant conversation with David Crawford about what it really takes to thrive in technology leadership. And here's the thing - it's probably not what you think.

Finance Is Your New Best Friend

The conversation that scares most technical folks away from leadership?

"How are you with spreadsheets?"

As David put it: "Finance is probably the most significant lever that you have to know how to pull."

You're not becoming an accountant. But if you can't justify why your team needs those fancy laptops or explain how cloud costs translate to business value, you're going to struggle. The good news? Find someone in finance who wants to understand your world, and they'll bring you into theirs.

Stop Calling Them "Soft Skills"

Communication. Stakeholder management. Understanding what motivates people. Giving feedback. These aren't nice-to-haves when you're leading - they're essential.

David's campaigning to rename them "hard skills" for leaders. And he's right. When you're a CTO, understanding how humans work and how to bring talented people together to do great work - that's the job.

You have to be a bit of a psychologist. You need to explain complex technology to non-technical colleagues using stories and analogies. And critically, you need to know when to shut up and let your team do what they do best.

The Technical Question

Do you need deep technical chops? David says 80% of the time, yes. But not in the way you might think.

You don't need to be the best coder in the room. You need enough understanding to translate between engineers and product managers, to arbitrate conflicts, and to occasionally surprise your team by jumping up and drawing an architecture diagram they didn't know you could draw.

As David said: "I'm just not the best at it. What I'm the best at is organizing the people who are the best at that to do that work. That's leadership."

Your Next Step

If this sounds interesting despite the challenges, go find a CTO or senior leader a few rungs above you. Don't ask them to mentor you forever - ask them for coffee and their advice on one specific challenge.

People love being asked for career development advice. They were in your position once too.

And start developing those "hard" skills now - finance, communication, stakeholder management. Don't wait until you have the title.

Hope this helps.

BenP

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Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

• Leaders In Tech: Raise the impact of your team.  Make them more influential, memorable and successful with customers everyday.  The Technical Storytelling Professional Program enables them to create clarity, generate energy and drive the results you need.
• Individuals: Accelerate your career and build your reputation.  Develop the skills to help you present,  influence and explain in the tech world.  Check out the Technical Storytelling Essentials or Tech Community Speaker courses.
• Tech World Human Skills Podcast:  The latest episode is "So You Want To Be A CTO" with David Crawford. Check it out on the Elevated You website,  Apple, Spotify, YouTube or Amazon Podcasts.