Getting support for Technical Improvement
Getting support for Technical Improvement
Many technology leaders I meet struggle to gain support for improvements necessary for the organisation's long-term health. Here's why it's hard and an opportunity to find better ways.
There's a common challenge I encounter when speaking to technology leaders.
They seek support for improvements necessary for the organisation's long-term health.
Making the case for technical investments that may appear disconnected from more tangible value can be challenging relative to other organisational priorities.
🌟 Adding new features is easy to campaign for. So, too, investments that appear directly related to company performance, such as adding sales staff.
🐞 Improving the qualitative experience of using the products and services can be more challenging.
⚙ Improving the efficiency of work practices or reducing risk can be harder still.
Technologists often know that certain investments are essential and the consequences of neglect but do not always know how to relate these ideas that are accessible to people with different expertise.
From my experience as a CTO, I know firsthand that it's tough and learned over time that it requires a multifaceted set of skills to overcome.
It's not something I started off being very good at.
Many attempts were made to do what was right, but in my early days as CTO, my efforts were hit and miss.
I was too reactive and didn't help people see what I saw and make the connections that had helped our team arrive at our conclusions.
If technology would support our long-term success, I knew I had to improve my approach to building support and making suitable investments.
In a complex environment involving multiple new business acquisitions, multiple trading markets and intense competition, I had many opportunities to try, fail and improve.
Fortunately, I did get better—bit by bit.
I learned a range of ways to improve my ability to convey sound investments in a way that could be understood and supported.
If these challenges sound familiar and you'd like to hear what I learned back then and what I have learned since you can watch the related episode of CTO Life Line.
CTO Life Line is our monthly livestream conversation to support CTOs and other technology leaders.
We discussed the topic: 'Getting support for technical improvement' on April 8th, 2024. The recording can be found here:
More details of this event here:
https://www.linkedin.com/events/ctolifeline-gettingsupportforte7176334340518293505/
