It’s a known fact that start-ups and tech companies need management with strong technical mastery. But there’s more to it when it comes to the main leadership skills every CTO should have.
A CTO with the right set of leadership skills is halfway there for a start-up and all teams involved continue to grow. This can be translated not only into making the company focused on applying the right technology, but also to making important business decisions when it comes to people, projects and budget.
5 leadership skills every CTO should have
Truth be told, a CTO must have the technical experience and business understanding to succeed in a management position. In addition to technology aptitudes, where are now going to explore other leadership skills every CTO should have.
1. Know the company’s goals
The CTO must understand all the company’s business goals and requirements in order to best manage employees and freelancers and control the development process.
As the tech leader of a start-up, you need to spearhead the technology strategy, ensure the team is motivated, plan for the future, and communicate progress toward goals with stakeholders such as investors.
The CTO plays a key executive role focused on setting long-term technology goals, tracking industry technology trends, and working with other executives to steer the company’s direction – which we will mention a bit ahead.
2. Have a people-centric mindset
Of the various leadership skills every CTO should have, the people-centric mindset is certainly one of the most important. In fact, any tech professional in a management position must acknowledge that relationship building is crucial to a business’s health.
The CTO must have a customer-centric mindset, as well as team management skills, which may be helpful if it comes from a previous startup experience. In other words, dealing with people means developing abilities in terms of negotiation, problem-solving, and strategy.
3. Develop communication skills
When people come first, it’s natural that a leadership skill every CTO should have is strong communication. A chief technology officer with exceptional communication skills will surely help your start-up meet deadlines and increase productivity.
On that matter, a manager in tech must have the confidence to effectively lead a team across multiple departments. Furthermore, the CTO of a tech business must be able to win the respect of developers and ensure that team members are motivated and do their best in their work. In a nutshell:
- Feel confident to manage different teams;
- Build a strong relationship with developers;
- Keep the motivation level high to ensure the best results.
4. Bring the right talent, including tech freelancers
Building the best team is also among the leadership skills every CTO should have. Tech leaders with a large network of highly trained technology professionals will certainly have a chance to bring more talent to your start-up when one day you need to hire more staff.
Moreover, an IT executive with the right skills can gather a world-class team, including tech freelancers, capable of:
- Solving complex problems;
- Developing new products;
- Meeting tight deadlines;
- Handling resources at their disposal.
With the ability to pick the right people, the CTO must have a wide range of knowledge, from technology and development to business strategy and product management.
And it doesn’t need to take months to find the right person. In a matter of 48 hours, the right talent can be matched to your company.
5. Stay abreast of new technologies
Tech leaders must be tech-savvy. As a leadership skill every CTO should have, this means staying abreast of new technologies, which goes beyond managing the company’s current tech solutions.
With a deep understanding of technology trends and target markets, CTOs play an important role in developing business strategies for the infrastructure and capital needed to achieve business goals.
CTOs’ leadership skills make a difference
Some may think that not all companies need a CTO, but if you’re running an agile start-up or a data and technology-intensive company, a chief technology officer can help you advise and solve problems on a tight budget.
With the right set of leadership skills, every CTO should have the means to handle all technology-related issues and make sure that the company’s software product solves the problems of the target audience.
