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Overcoming Parkinson’s Law in Technology Leadership: Speed Through Constraints
Parkinson’s Law causes work to expand to fill time, scope, and capacity. This guide shows tech leaders how to design visible constraints such as Decision Dates, PR size caps, WIP limits, and FinOps guardrails, and measure impact with DORA metrics. Grounded in real case studies (Google, Basecamp, Dropbox), it includes a manager’s checklist and one-week…
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How to Be an Effective CTO
How can you, a newly appointed CTO, stand out among the senior leadership team? In other words, how can you prove your worth at the senior executive level? Based on Julian Costley’s lecture from CTO Academy’s Digital MBA for Technology Leaders and several live sessions with our alumni, this article unpacks practical strategies and, more…
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Combating the Peter Principle in Technology Leadership
Do you believe that competence in yesterday’s role is a viable reference for suitability for the new one? If you do, you’re not alone; however, in practice, that belief often backfires. It’s called the Peter Principle. This article unpacks why even the smartest technologists can plateau at the top, how that plateau affects product vision…
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words…#32: Analytical
Being “Analytical” in tech leadership means harnessing both critical thinking and mixed research methods to make informed decisions. Analytical leaders delve deeply into data, using a blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis to gain comprehensive insights. This dual approach allows them to not only interpret vast arrays of numerical data but also understand the subtleties…
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Build Your Personal Board of Advisors
Even When You’re the Only Tech Leader in the Room You’re the lone tech voice at the table, juggling sprint fires, budget trade-offs, and late-night architecture calls—and no one really gets the weight of each decision. It’s the leadership paradox: the higher you climb, the fewer sounding boards you have. Yet research shows that 70…
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Tech Leaders’ Guide to Building Resilient Remote Engineering Teams
Whenever they must manage distributed teams, technology leaders face the dual challenge. The first is driving outcomes. The second is nurturing a coherent, connected culture. This playbook offers a step-by-step guide to building resilient remote engineering teams equipped to thrive across time zones and communication barriers. 1. Assess Current Team Structure Start with a situational…
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Tech Leadership In So Many Words…#31: Innovative
Innovation in the tech industry extends far beyond the creation of new gadgets and software; it encompasses novel approaches to operations, strategy, and organisational structure. True innovation involves rethinking how things are done, aiming for efficiency and effectiveness in achieving or creating outcomes. For example, the shift from traditional agile methods to more holistic approaches,…
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Tech Leadership in So Many Words…#30 – Decisive
In the fluid and constantly changing world of tech, decisiveness is crucial, particularly in agile teams that often operate with a flat hierarchy and are expected to be autonomous. However, this structure can sometimes lead to a scenario where “too many chefs and not enough cooks” impede swift decision-making. Being “Decisive” means cutting through the…