Rebels: Systematically develop two-way translation competence.
Here’s where most organizations get it backwards. They expect CTOs to be great translators but provide no development, feedback or support for this critical skill.
As Sims notes, “The best CTOs turn complexity into clarity. They make everyone around them smarter. That’s the leadership skill we should be measuring.”
But translation is a two-way street. Business leaders also need to develop competence in asking strategic questions that unlock technological insight.
Actionable implementation:
- Create monthly translation labs where technology leaders practice explaining complex concepts to different audiences
- Train business leaders to ask better questions: “What are the trade-offs?” instead of “Is this feasible?”
- Establish technology education sessions for non-technical executives
- Reward and recognize technology leaders who effectively educate their peers
Better leadership means faster business
When you get technology leadership integration right, the impact extends far beyond individual performance. You create what the Deloitte research calls enterprise agility: the ability to “nimbly strategize and operate” in response to constant change.
The data reveals so much: businesses with integrated technology leadership outperform peers across every meaningful metric. Revenue growth, profit margins, customer satisfaction, employee engagement and market share all improve when business and technology leadership truly collaborate.
But the most significant impact might be speed. Integrated organizations move faster because they eliminate the handoff delays, translation loops and rework cycles that plague siloed structures.
The competitive reality
While you’re optimizing technology leadership integration, your competitors are making a choice. Some will continue the old patterns: hiring smart technologists, giving them business requirements and wondering why transformation is hard.
Others will join the integration revolution. They’ll create conditions where technology leaders thrive. They’ll build strategic collaboration into their organizational DNA. They’ll accelerate past competitors while others struggle with digital theater.
The study reveals that tech vanguard organizations are already pulling away from baseline performers. The gap isn’t just technical: it’s structural, cultural and strategic.
Ready to ramp up?
The path forward isn’t about your next technology hire, it’s about the environment you create for technology leadership to succeed.
Week one: Audit your current integration points. Where does your CTO participate in strategic decision-making? Where are they excluded? Map the information flows and decision rights.
Month one: Redesign your leadership meeting rhythms. Include technology leaders in strategic formation, not just implementation planning. Create forums for substantive business-technology dialogue.
Month two: Implement outcome-based accountability. Replace deliverable tracking with business impact measurement. Align technology leader success metrics with business results.
Month three: Launch translation competence development. Create systematic programs for both business-to-technology and technology-to-business communication improvement.
Month six: Measure integration velocity. How quickly do business insights flow into technology decisions? How rapidly do technological possibilities inform business strategy?
The businesses that systematically build technology leadership integration won’t just transform their trajectory; they’ll transform their markets. They’ll set the pace while competitors struggle to keep up.
The choice is yours: Continue with traditional technology leadership models or build the integration capabilities that drive real transformation.
The rebels are already deciding. What about you?
This article is published as part of the Foundry Expert Contributor Network.
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