In this article we’re going to consider the challenges facing technologists who step up to a board or C-level role within a company. These individuals will typically have come from a purely tech-focused role such as being an engineering manager, or leading a development team, but going forward they will be involved in shaping company-wide strategy and decision-making.
C-level roles for a technologist might include:
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
VP Engineering
Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO),
In this article we’ll refer to ‘CTOs’ for ease of reference, but the issues and strategies will also be relevant to CPTOs and VPs of Engineering in a technology business.
What are the common challenges?
With some C-level roles, such as finance director, or chief compliance officer, there will be clear expectations and a clear remit. However, with a CTO role there may be a broad, ill-defined set of responsibilities.
With this ambiguity, a common scenario is that a technologist will go into the board meeting and act like an engineering manager not a C-level executive. At first, they may attempt to focus the board’s attention on deeply technical matters.
But the reality is that technology is a ‘black box’ for many people, and most of the board won’t want to talk deep tech. When the new CTO notices their fellow board members’ eyes beginning to glaze over, or detects impatience in their tone or body language, they will often abandon their attempts to explain what is going on at the technology coal face. What then tends to happen is that they will provide an update – a list of Outputs (tasks completed and how long each one took).
This leads to a disconnect. Board members may not be able to form a link between the CTO’s list of ‘epics’ and ‘story points’ and the wider picture of what the company is trying to achieve. The danger is that some non-tech-focused board members will see tech as a cost sink and little more than a necessary evil. And the new CTO could end up being side-lined as an ‘unimportant’ board member.
Objective setting
The goal of the successful CTO should be to link technology issues to business strategy, and show how it can be an enabler, and not a cost sink. They should aim to demonstrate to the board how technology can help the business to grow.
If the CTO is setting objectives correctly for their team, then their team will be delivering part of the business’s strategy. To this end, it is important that the higher-level objectives are devised with the buy-in of the board at the outset. (For more on this, see my recent Insight Paper on OKRs.)
Crucially, when the CTO presents to the board, their job is not merely to report progress on objectives, but to emphasise the clear connection between the success of the objective and the success of the strategy – and how it will drive the business forward.
Talking about risks
Sometimes technology will be focused more around managing risk (for example data security issues), rather than growth or strategy.
Where a CTO has identified a risk that requires board-level consideration, then they must bring this to the board’s attention. This may involve simply making them aware of the risk, or explaining what board members can contribute in order to mitigate or manage the risk. For example, more investment or development team time may be needed to make security improvements.
Technology and product-focused risks should be included in the company’s risk register, so that they can be evaluated, quantified, mitigated where possible, and monitored on a regular basis. This is a key part of corporate governance that all board members should be familiar with. You should expect the board to invest the same time and attention in considering and addressing tech-focused risks as they would any other risk facing the business.
Comfort Zones
Most people tend to operate within their comfort zone if they can. For this reason, Board-level executives may not want to try and understand tech. They may even feel uncomfortable about it, fearing their lack of knowledge and understanding will be exposed if they must participate in a deep discussion about it.
On the flip side, some technologists may find it more comfortable to be somewhat opaque when they are presenting to the board. At some level, they may prefer to hide behind the veil of other people’s lack of understanding or unfamiliarity. Sometimes it can be easier if the board just ‘waves through’ what you’re asking for, rather than them attempting to engage with the issues.
Being a successful CTO is almost like being a translator, at the interface between the engineering managers or team, and the board.
This involves learning the right language to use – the language that the board will understand. This means talking about tech through the lens of how it can drive the business forward, or how it relates to a risk that is worthy of board level consideration.
The OODA loop
If you are a new CTO, the board room may be new territory for you. The OODA loop is a concept that was originally used in the context of military strategy and combat operations – it was developed by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd after his experiences as a fighter pilot in the Korean War. Now it is often applied in commercial scenarios, or wherever it is necessary to make effective decisions in high-stakes situations. It is designed to help people when they are thrown into unfamiliar territory, facing uncertain risks and powerful opponents – precisely when they are NOT in their comfort zones.
As a successful CTO you might use the OODA loop in a way that looks something like this:
Orientate – you will orientate yourself within this new situation and work out what you’ve got around you. What are the immediate challenges you’re facing? What position are you in, relative to the other board members? The small talk at the beginning of a meeting can be very useful as you can pick up cues and signals before people ‘get down to business’.
Observe – As the meeting progresses, you’ll observe the other board members closely – what are their backgrounds? Are they sales-focused, product-focused, or are they investor directors? What are their priorities, and do these align with yours? You will observe how these individuals communicate, and what styles tend to make them receptive and engaged, or alternatively tend to make them push back or switch off. What about the personality dynamics in the room? Who tends to dominate the discussion, and who do the others listen to?
Decide – You need to decide how to communicate information in the most effective way to achieve what you need, based on what you have observed about the board members’ communication styles and their priorities.
Act – This is the final part of the loop. Too often, board members (especially first-time board members) think that ‘act’ is the first thing they need to do. When you have gone through the first three stages, you’ll be able to act decisively and with confidence.
Conclusion
If the new CTO is prepared to learn this new language and approach, and embrace their role as ‘translator’, two things will happen. They will expand their own comfort zone, but also that of their fellow board members. This means technology issues can be discussed with confidence and trust on both sides, and the CTO’s contributions will be heard and valued. The new board member will be recognised for what they are – an integral player in the company’s growth and success.
If you’d like to talk in more detail about the role of a C-level technologist, and the interface between technology and company strategy and decision-making, please get in touch with me by emailing Matt Little at Blue Ocean Insight.