How to Excel in Tech Leadership - A Conversation with Adelina Chalmers

In this conversation, Adelina Chalmers discusses her approach to coaching technology leaders and the challenges they face. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the root cause of problems and providing targeted advice. Adelina shares transformative experiences she has facilitated, including helping a CTO gain board approval for a product redesign and assisting a VP of Engineering in clarifying their role. She highlights common hurdles for technology leaders, such as credibility with the board and difficulty in addressing technical debt. Adelina also emphasizes the need for skills like empathy, the ability to translate technology into business terms, and future-oriented thinking in technology leadership roles. In this conversation, Adelina Chalmers and Kulvinder Maingi discuss the importance of empathy and self-awareness in leadership. They explore the impact of delivering bad news with empathy and the value of listening to understand and holding space for others. They also discuss the influence of company culture on empathy and the challenges of balancing technical proficiency and leadership. Additionally, they address the perception of technical proficiency as a CTO and provide insights on managing expectations and educating non-technical leaders on technology risks and benefits. The conversation highlights the essential role of the CTO in bridging the gap between business and technology.

Takeaways


Understanding the root cause of challenges is crucial in providing effective advice to technology leaders.
Coaching is not suitable for everyone, and a business advising approach may be more effective in addressing specific issues.
Transformative experiences can be achieved in a short period of time by addressing the underlying problems and dynamics within an organization.
Common hurdles for technology leaders include credibility with the board, difficulty in addressing technical debt, and challenges in communication and influencing skills.
Indispensable skills for technology leadership include empathy, the ability to translate technology into business terms, and future-oriented thinking.
About the guest

Adelina Chalmers D.P.S.I., Dip H.E. cuts straight to the heart of the matter when advising Chief Technology and Science Officers in tech companies. She focuses entirely on the most pressing issues in the business and usually adds a minimum of $ 1 million worth of value to each company with which she works. She has been working since 2011 with science and technology companies from 50 to 110,000 staff on communication, leadership and strategic challenges. She won Cofinitive's Top 7 People to Watch 2019 with her business, The Geek Whisperer®. She was nominated on Computer Weekly’s Most Influencing Women in IT list in 2021 and won her place in the top 50 Most Influential Women in Tech in 2022 and 2023. She has worked with scientists and engineers from Software Engineer to CEO/CSO/CTO who work for: Fujitsu, ARM, Amazon, Apple, Deloitte, Compare the Market, Microsoft and hundreds of scale-ups.

You can find Adelina here: www.linkedin.com/in/adelinachalmers/
You can find out more about The Geek Whisperer here: www.geekwhisperer.co.uk/


About the host

Kulvinder Maingi is an accomplished technology executive, serving as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in many roles. He is the host of the Tech Exec Talks podcast, where he shares insights and conducts interviews with leaders in the tech industry. With a passion for driving technical innovation and business growth, Kulvinder Maingi is a dynamic leader dedicated to fostering excellence in technology leadership and product development.

You can find out more about Kulvinder on -
LinkedIn:

techexectalks.com/