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Keep growing as a technology leader by combining technical fluency with business judgment, communication, talent development, and the ability to lead change. The role is not just about knowing more technology: it is also about helping people across an organization make sound choices with it. The best next skill depends on your role, career stage, and organization; the evidence points to useful development areas, not a guaranteed formula for promotion or success.
What technology leaders need to develop
Deloitte’s 2023 framework describes five complementary competencies for technology leadership. They are a way to think about the work, not a certification standard or a fixed ladder:
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- Engineer: Operate and optimize technology capabilities.
- Architect: Design environments that are resilient and scalable.
- Strategist: Connect technology choices with business strategy.
- Catalyst: Help catalyze change across the organization.
- Technologist: Bring technology fluency to leadership discussions and decisions.
Deloitte’s study drew on more than 1,175 global leaders surveyed and more than 100 technology-executive interviews. Its account of leadership emphasizes collaboration, communication, coordination, and cocreation alongside technical work. Deloitte’s 2023 Global Technology Leadership Study presents the five competencies as a framework for the role, not proof that every leader needs equal depth in all five.
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Technology leaders increasingly participate in enterprise strategy and value creation, according to Deloitte’s 2026 study and McKinsey’s 2026 Global Tech Agenda. In practice, this means being able to explain what organizational goal a technology initiative supports, what trade-offs it involves, which teams it affects, and how its results will be assessed. That is a practical way to apply the findings, not a measured rule that guarantees business results.
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Deloitte’s 2026 study describes a dual mandate: deepen technology expertise while taking on broader enterprise leadership. It surveyed 662 senior technology leaders across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific; most respondents were C-suite technology leaders, and represented organizations had annual revenue of at least US$1 billion. Its findings may not map directly to smaller organizations or to every stage of a technology career. Read Deloitte’s 2026 study and methodology.
McKinsey’s 2026 Global Tech Agenda is based on an online survey of 632 C-level executives or IT professionals, fielded September 29–November 10, 2025. Its findings add another view of technology’s enterprise role, but survey results describe respondents’ views and organizational patterns rather than proving that a particular leadership behavior causes better outcomes.
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Build AI, data, and human-AI leadership skills
Deloitte’s 2026 study identifies deepening AI and data literacy, leading human-AI collaboration, developing next-generation talent, and translating technology vision into enterprise strategy among current development priorities. Respondents viewed technology and leadership competencies as nearly equal in importance over a three-to-five-year horizon. That is evidence of what the surveyed leaders expect to matter, not a definitive forecast for every technology role.
AI leadership therefore involves more than learning a new tool. It also calls for judgment about how people and systems will work together, how teams will build relevant capability, and how an AI or data initiative fits the organization’s direction.
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Keep learning as the role changes
In a 2026 LinkedIn study, 90% of surveyed C-suite leaders said their roles require continuous skill-building to keep pace with change. The survey included CEOs, people leaders, technology leaders, and marketing leaders in the US, UK, and India; the figure is not specific to technology leaders. See LinkedIn’s report.
For an individual leader, ongoing learning can mean revisiting priorities as the organization’s needs and the technology landscape shift. It does not mean chasing every new trend. The more useful question is which technical area is relevant to the organization’s near-term direction, and what you need to understand to evaluate its opportunities and risks.
Develop the people and coordination side of the job
Technology leadership is a team activity as well as a technical one. Deloitte’s 2023 work highlights communication, collaboration, coordination, and cocreation; its 2026 study adds leading human-AI collaboration and growing next-generation talent as development priorities.
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Look for work that requires coordination across functions, and practice making technology decisions understandable to colleagues outside your specialty. Give others meaningful ownership, coach them through decisions, and pay attention to the skills your team will need next. These are practical applications of the capabilities highlighted in the studies, not a proven checklist that guarantees advancement.
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A practical way to choose your next development goal
The following approach is a practical synthesis of the study themes, not a tested or universally validated framework:
- Choose one relevant technical area. Tie it to the organization’s near-term direction, then learn enough to ask informed questions and assess trade-offs.
- Pair the learning with a business problem. State the expected value, risks, affected teams, and how the organization could measure success.
- Seek cross-functional responsibility. Take on work that requires coordination beyond your immediate team and gives you practice connecting technology with organizational goals.
- Grow other people. Delegate meaningful ownership, coach, and identify future skill needs for your team.
- Review the goal regularly. Adjust it as organizational priorities and the technology landscape change.
Use the plan to identify a useful next step, not as a promise of promotion or business results. The studies do not establish that a particular degree, certification, book, mentor, or job move is required for continued growth.
How to assess your current balance
There is no single ideal balance established by these studies. Use these contrasts to spot where your next development effort may help, taking your role, organization, and career stage into account:
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- Individual expertise and team capability: Are you building your own fluency while creating ownership and skill in others?
- Technology vision and organizational change: Can you translate a direction into coordinated work across teams?
- Current fluency and continued learning: Are you developing knowledge that fits changing priorities rather than collecting skills without a clear purpose?
The studies are largely survey-based. They describe respondent views and patterns; they do not demonstrate that one practice causes leadership success. Treat their priorities as informed signals for reflection, not universal career rules.
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