Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Larry Ellison. Michael Dell. Jeff Bezos. Larry Page. Elon Musk. Mark Zuckerberg. It’s no wonder we believe leading a technology company has become a cult of personality. Leadership in general is revered and coveted and while at the same time being vague and ill-defined. High tech leadership takes that to whole new level; it’s characterized by mystique, aura and people who dramatically change the world we live in.
Leading tech is unique – innovation, disruption, product launches, stock options, retention and change ensure that volatility and uncertainty are the only constants. This begs the question – do you have to be a tech icon, a leader larger than life, to successfully navigate turbulent technology waters?
The answer is no: the stabilizing force in technology companies is culture – the people they hire and the way they are led. Larry Ellison purportedly looked to hire employees who were “wicked smart, outrageously ambitious and nice.” So how do you create a culture to lead these amazing people? While free meals, virtual gaming, and unlimited vacation support an innovative culture, great leadership is the surest way to attract and retain the best of the best.
Leaders are the stewards of culture and people that make technology thrive. They create passion by providing vision, and help their organization translate innovative ideas into reality by creating and syncing resources.
Advances in leadership theory and analytics have created a new leadership operating system that enables tech leaders to focus on what inspires and engages those who make innovation happen. Our approach to technology leadership relies on three fundamental ideas:
* We Simplify leadership by clearly articulating the tech leadership framework and the measurable differences between good and great leaders.
* We Quantify leadership by establishing a dynamic tech leadership scorecard that measures performance before, during and after the engagement.
* We Integrate leadership by providing both executive and executive team coaching that integrates the tech leadership framework with real-time company-specific innovation and business challenges.
In summary, no, you don’t have to be a tech icon. Powerful leaders can be created that pull innovators together to turn vision into reality.