From Tech Expert To Business Leader
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Most people know me as a former CIO and digital leader. Today, I'm more of a business leader.
I increasingly find myself advising senior executives and leaders of large organisations. Looking back, I’ve been thinking about what changed.
It wasn’t one big moment, I moved slowly from tech expert to business leader.
It was a series of small shifts in how I looked at business, leadership, and the conversations I was having.
Change Where You Have Your Coffee
The first shift was surprisingly simple.
I started putting myself into business environments informally.
I have a local coffee shop with an eclectic group of people, and I talk to them regularly. They come from different industries, backgrounds and businesses.
I became genuinely interested in what they did.
It sounds simple, but changing the environment around you changes the conversations you have.
Stop Talking Technology First
People would ask me about technology.
Instead of simply answering the technology question, I started asking more questions about their business.
What were they trying to achieve?
What was making growth difficult?
Where were the operational challenges?
What really mattered to their customers?
Technology was still part of the conversation, but it stopped being the starting point.
Strive for Business Conversations
Those conversations opened a much broader understanding of business.
I started seeing common patterns across industries and, more importantly, the different levers that drive a business.
Revenue. Customers. Operations. People. Risk. Growth.
That changed the way I approached my own clients.
Learn Broader, Lead Simpler
I also returned to some of the simple leadership principles I had learned as a technology leader.
Respect the past.
Clearly explain the present.
Help people understand and buy into the future.
Leadership doesn't always need to be complicated. Often, the challenge is making something complex simple enough for people to understand, contribute to and ultimately move forward.
Start Making Enterprise Decisions
I began having broader enterprise strategy conversations, where technology was simply one component.
That distinction matters.
A business leader doesn't ask, “Where can technology help?”
They ask, “What are we trying to achieve, and what will it take to get there?”
Technology may be part of the answer. It shouldn't always be the question.
Become Known for Business Outcomes
Over the past year, across a range of clients, I've increasingly become known for business outcomes rather than technology expertise.
I can still hold my own in a technology conversation.
But I'm more interested in driving revenue, improving operations, creating new markets and helping leaders make better decisions.
For me, that's been the real shift from CIO to business leader.
The technology experience still matters. But what matters more is knowing when to leave the technology conversation and start having the business conversation.
Contact me here to learn more.
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