Category: ISMW

Julian Costley is a highly experienced CEO, entrepreneur, investor and publisher based in the UK, but with a CV that includes working in and with corporates around the world.

He’s also one of the most popular lecturers on our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders.

However …. there is one section in his CTO Academy lecture on “How to be effective at executive level” which provokes as much debate as any other within the entirety of this extensive course.

In this lecture he warns that once you reach the senior level in any organisation of size ….

“Politics and the managerial time and energy it soaks up, becomes a fact of life”

and that and depending on the size and culture of a particular organisation,

“it can take up to 20% of your time to manage”.

So as you climb into senior leadership roles a key task will be negotiating the political waters within your organisation and just as importantly, protecting your team and allowing them to do their jobs.

It’s therefore important to understand the ecosystems operating around you and how they interact (or don’t) with each other. Your task as a manager and a leader is to become adept at both recognising and interpreting the nuances of those dynamics. 

Ask yourself, what department feeds off what, where are the major players, who are the hawks and doves within an organisation?

And once you’ve acquired sufficient insight to identify the politics happening around you, how should you respond?

No less a figure than Albert Einstein recommended that if you are playing a game, you must learn the rules, “and then you have to play better than anyone else”.

This is rarely easy, particularly for those of us not always interested in and/or good at politics.

I remember when completing my own MBA that I found myself for the first time in my life alongside future captains of industry, for whom the politics was part of the fun and some of them were clearly naturals.

But to be pre-warned is to be pre-armed and it certainly makes your senior role more challenging if you try and play at politics badly — that’s a sure fire way to lose friends and alienate people.

If you can, the key is to be aware but avoid playing the game altogether and focus instead on building strong relationships that can withstand political manoeuvrings.

Prioritise creating a culture based on honesty and trust in your interactions with c-suite colleagues, your team and with other departments within the company.

This will lead the way to the kind of frank and open communication that is, as much as anything can be, politics-proof.

“In weak companies, politics win. In strong companies, the best ideas do” — Steve Jobs

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including lectures and discussions that look at Corporate Politics?

Visit the CTO Academy Website and in particular our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders that is winning rave reviews from global technology leaders

There are many reasons tech leaders want to join CTO Academy …

Career
Community
Networking
Discovering those unknown unknowns …

But there is one request we receive as often as any and that is to help them negotiate the often challenging transition from being CTO firefighter to becoming CTO strategist.

Ultimately it’s those high level contributions an organization needs from their CTO, not an ongoing obsession with the weeds so therefore strategizing becomes a key task for any leader, particularly for those in tech leadership roles.

But this can’t be achieved effectively if you are still fire fighting.

Like a chess grandmaster, the CTO needs to anticipate future moves and how best to capitalise on them.

They need to create the time and the conditions required to review and understand the macro as well as the micro environment in other words, they need sufficient room to gain a perspective of the wider game rather than just the immediate moves.

So how do you start to maneuver yourself into that strategic mindset because analytical thinking — and knowing how to apply it — is challenging and some key elements need to be in place first?

Delegation, for example.
You won’t be able to think long-term if you’re still caught up in coding and other hands-on tasks.

Learning to trust your team with the day-to-day stuff is crucial in taking that step away from the keyboard and creating the time and headspace needed to focus on the strategic vision.

And that vision must be aligned with the long-term goals of the organization.

Not only do you have to recognise tech trends (and as all know, the pace of change seems to be accelerating all the time) you must also understand how they impact on the wider business goals. 

If ever there was a reason to step out of that silo you’re in and get a grasp of the aims and priorities of other departments, this is it.

And finally we return to that fundamental pillar of any successful leader, communication.

However much space you create for yourself or how brilliant your strategic thinking is, no one is going to be inspired if you can’t communicate it effectively and to different stakeholders, with different agendas and capacity to listen.

Conveying your ideas in clear, straightforward terms that resonate particularly with non-technical stakeholders is crucial.

KISS … and get everyone on board.

“Without strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless”
– Morris Chang

Master this transition from firefighter to strategist, and the impact on your organisation and your career will be significant.

CTO Academy work with technology leaders from around the world with courses, coaching and community support around issues like strategy.

Visit our Website and in particular The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders which is generating fantastic reviews from our early graduates.

Delegation.

We know we need to do it
We recognise the benefits of successfully achieving it
But many of us (author included) still find it challenging to manage it.
Particularly when new into a leadership and managerial role.

The reasons why?

Trust.
Accountability.
Time.
Fear.
Control.
Narcissism.

Take your pick but don’t take your time because the longer you fail to delegate the more likely you will burn out yourself and, burn off your team.

Studies suggest the most common excuses (aka roadblocks) to delegation are …

1. I will do a better job than anyone else
2. It’s easier if I just do it myself
3. I need to prove that I can do it
4. I like doing these tasks

What are the tell tale signs?

You may not spot them but the rest of us do …

• You’re hoarding work
• Resisting delegation
• Working long hours
• Feeling indispensable
• Subordinates aren’t energized or taking ownership
• They’ve moved to watching the clock (or looking for jobs)
• And of course … no-one cares about the company as much as you do 

It’s time to trust.
It’s time to release.
It’s time to delegate.

Because the value add that your organisation is paying you for
Does not exist in the weeds.

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including lectures and discussions that look at Delegation?

Visit the CTO Academy Website and our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders winning rave reviews from technology leaders around the world.

That journey into the CTO role will often require a fundamental transition from the core technical capabilities you’ve worked on throughout your career to date, to the leadership skills necessary to have an impact at the c-suite level.

And leadership should be viewed differently to management.

Peter Drucker was quoted as saying that “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

One of the fundamental changes required is a shift in mindset as you move from being one of the team to leading the team.

Delegation is one example of a shift in mindset that can be challenging especially during the early days of your leadership career.

You might feel that you can do the job as well if not better than those around you but you also know that letting go is the only way to build and scale a team.

You have to let go or the team will become demotivated and you will become exhausted.

You need to put your team ahead of you and learn to trust them.
You need to focus on the value add your CEO wants you to deliver.
And the value add won’t come from you hanging onto the code.

A change of mindset is challenging for many of us but it’s one of the pivotal changes necessary when moving up into senior technology roles.

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including lectures and discussions that look at Leadership Mindset?

Visit the CTO Academy Website and in particular our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders that is winning rave reviews from global technology leaders

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 distance and cool with uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure”.

Brown paints a picture of typical scenarios such as …

– Calling an employee or colleague whose child is not well
– Reaching out to someone who has suffered a loss in their family
– Asking someone for help
– Taking responsibility for something that went wrong at work

Jeff Polzer, Harvard professor of organizational behavior, reports that being vulnerable gets the static out of the way and lets us do the job together, without worrying or hesitating.

Didier Elzinga, Founder and CEO at Culture Amp writes about his process for meeting new employees that includes reading them a W.B. Yeats poem;

“Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half-light; I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams”

He goes on to say …

“We ask people to bring all they are, their hopes, dreams, aspirations, and fears and lay those down. But when they lay those down, they need to be aware that they’re also stepping back on someone else’s dreams. We’re all being asked to be vulnerable, even the CEO. By reading this poem, I try to set the bar and show them that we’re a different kind of organization”

Vulnerability is not about oversharing or talking about mistakes in an attempt to gain sympathy.

Here are some simple steps which should be baked into your leadership style;

1. Apologize when you’re wrong
2. Share new or different ideas
3. Discuss sensitive matters with authenticity
4. Set and respect boundaries
5. Have tolerance for mistakes
6. Get to know the people around you
7. Call out inappropriate behavior

And crucially it’s about this …

that when you show vulnerability it allows team members to feel more comfortable being open and honest with their own concerns, and that will only enhance the team dynamic and their commitment to you and to the project.

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including lectures and discussions that look at Vulnerability in Leadership?

Visit the CTO Academy Website and in particular our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders that is winning rave reviews from global technology leaders

You have responsibilities and power as a leader
that impacts directly on people’s lives

Jack Welch formerly CEO at General Electric
talked about the leader as “Chief Broomer”
like those you see at the Winter Olympics
In the sport of Curling

Clearing stuff out of the way
So the people around them can act and do the things
That the organisation needs

He also talked about leaders as
“Chief Meaning Officer”

To show followers
Where you’re going
Why you’re going there
What’s in it for them to go there with you.

A leader is someone who draws others by his or her voice, actions, or choices
but ultimately you can make a long list of key leadership responsibilities
when it often comes down to very simple rules of the road …

1st;
You can’t lead others before taking responsibility for leading yourself.

Andrew Bryant expert and best selling author on Self Leadership talks about it being the “practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling and actions towards your objectives”

And he focuses around these 3 key pillars;

Self Awareness
Self Regulation
Self Learning

Responsibility starts with our own behaviour as leaders
with who we are; because the environment that we create around us
is simply a reflection of our thinking and of our behaviour

2nd;
Your responsibility for creating the right environment is also about making people feel safe and empowered to deliver their optimal performance.

Maya Angelou captured for me a key essence of effective leadership with these words …

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And from Leadership is an Art the author leaves us in no doubt where your leadership responsibility should ultimately be focused …

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality
The last is to say thank you.
In between the leader is a servant”

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including a range of lectures that look at Responsibility and Power in Leadership?

Visit the CTO Academy Website and in particular our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders that is winning rave reviews from global technology leaders

“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”
– Chris Hawker

There used to be an old fashioned, transactional notion of leadership
that all good ideas need to come down from the top.

Wow – what a monumental waste of the wider talent available in an organisation.

That’s why creating an environment where critical thinking and the circulation of ideas are both encouraged and supported, can provide organisations with a significant competitive advantage.

And it’s also why when moving into a leadership position
your role needs to switch from individual problem-solver
to an enabler of collaboration between individuals and teams 

How to build critical thinking skills in your team?

The ability to think critically is often identified by executives as one of the most important areas to consider within their teams and should certainly be a key criteria with any new hires

Are they?

• Curious
• Seeing connections between different pieces of information
• Open-minded and capable of listening
• Self-reflective
• Naturally creative
• Self-confident in presenting conclusions and making decisions

Improving an employee’s ability to think critically also means encouraging them to develop the suite of soft skills that will help improve their impact in these areas. 

Because it requires a healthy combination of interpersonal skills and cognitive intelligence. 

And it needs a psychologically safe environment around them that helps to build the confidence needed for ideas to emerge, especially when failure is a distinct possibility.

So as a leader it’s your job to create that space and provide that support.

To ensure the introvert as well as the extrovert gets heard so that you optimise all the talent at your disposal and that despite our brains being wired differently, that everyone feels they can get involved and impart their knowledge.

Because with so many changes in the workplace, almost everyone in the teams needs to be a critical thinker. 

Building that environment which encourages critical thinking skills will not only help you and your organisation to tap into the wider talent at your disposal but, will also improve your retention rate as individuals within your team feel more empowered and engaged.

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including lectures that look at Critical Thinking and New Ideas

Visit the CTO Academy Website and our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders winning rave reviews from global technology leaders.

“Without trust, we don’t truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team” – Stephen Covey

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.

So a critical component for any effective leader is the fostering of trust within their working environment.

Trust is the glue that binds the leader to her/his followers and provides the capacity for organizational and leadership success. 

Alongside creating a more positive, dynamic and collaborative working environment a high level of trust in leaders has been shown to deliver higher job satisfaction and a greater commitment to the organization.

In “The Neuroscience of Trust” (2017) Professor Paul Zak wrote that:

Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report:
74% less stress,
106% more energy at work,
50% higher productivity,
13% fewer sick days,
76% more engagement,
29% more satisfaction with their lives,
40% less burnout.

How do you develop trust?

Leading by example with Inclusivity and Authenticity at the core is a good start.
Providing your team with Autonomy, Context and Psychological Safety is equally so.

And of course it takes time.
It’s based on a consistency of behaviours and norms that enable you and your team to build the underlying principles of trust that help you negotiate future challenges together.

Back in 2020 during the darkest days of the lockdown here in Europe, we interviewed a range of technology leaders from around the world with one question asking …

“What are the key attributes of a successful tech leaders?”

Technology is clearly a given for any tech leader so let’s park that as a reply.

But when looking at the soft skills required to be an effective tech leader, the word empathy emerged as often as any other

Great leadership requires a fine mix of all kinds of skills to create the conditions for engagement, happiness and performance, but it’s empathy and emotional intelligence that often tops the list of what leaders must get right.

The reason empathy is so necessary is that employees, particularly in high pressure work environments, are experiencing multiple kinds of stress both at home and work, that recent pandemic not helping …

A global study on Mental Health by Qualtrics found 42% of people experienced a decline in mental health during the pandemic with 67% of people experiencing increases in stress 

And other studies show that negativity, rudeness and a general lack of care at work can have a significant impact on the performance and wellbeing of employees and team members.

Counter balance of this is that when leaders were reported as empathetic, employees were far more likely to be innovative and engaged

So this set off an internal debate here at CTO Academy about whether compassion (sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others) is a more effective leadership approach than empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another).

(Yes, we often split hairs here …)

What empathy is and should be …

it’s understanding an employee’s struggles, appreciating a person’s point of view and engaging in a healthy debate that builds to a better solution.

it’s considering a team member’s perspectives and making recommendations that help achieve greater success.

“people may not remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel”

Empathy contributes to positive relationships and organizational cultures, which in turn drives results.

It may not be a new skill but it has a new level of importance and research makes it especially clear how empathy is the leadership competency to develop and demonstrate.

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including lectures that look at Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Visit the CTO Academy Website and our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are”  Anais Nin

Perception is often at the core of leadership.
Because no one cares about our real intentions.

To become a successful technology leader you need to acknowledge and understand how perception affects your relationship with other people and from that, your ability to lead.

Key pillars impacting the perceptual process;

– Objective perception is difficult if not impossible
– Every person has their own unique frame of reference
– Interpretation is dependent on factors not always related to the immediate situation
– Energy expended on a task can be relative to our perception of its importance

So how do you bridge the gap between your perception and their reality?

Finding Out, What They Think Of You

If you don’t know how you are perceived, you cannot change things and changing people’s perceptions can only come by understanding their reality and potentially changing your own behaviour.

Feedback is an important but often uncomfortable step to take.
It’s a process that enables you to protect yourself from erroneous perception and to both work and be seen to work empathetically by considering different points of view.

You have to be open to constructive criticism, helping to make sure your leadership actions match your words and improving how you communicate the reasoning behind your decisions.

Consider also the impact of body language and the science of influence.

One small step towards gaining more influence with an individual is the use of mirroring.
When you mirror someone’s body language and words, the other person tends to engage more because they get the sense you’re doing the same.

It’s how we’re wired so use it.

Influence is a powerful tool in breaking down communication barriers and getting people to understand more about your motivations.

If you want a deeper dive into this topic, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is the book to read.

Want to learn more?

We cover this and other communication topics within our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders.