5 ways CTOs lose credibility in the CSuite/boardrooom:

1. Not understanding value vs price, or strategic technology building that makes business sense. eg. using only engineering tools/approaches they like, which might cost less but not add enough value considering the market the company is operating in or customer base they have, thus limiting customer acquisition, retention or upselling.

2. Talking about DORA metrics in the boardroom when asked about engineering delivery.

3. Not having clear delivery metrics for engineering. Not having a clear product delivery process, not being strict on entry requirements for change to be brought into the delivery process but expecting everyone in the board-room to trust engineering that the product “will arrive when it arrives”.

4. Not collaborating with the other departments within the business, creating siloes and encouraging their reports to “fight it out as a way to keep power”.

5. Asking for money for more engineers but saying to the board “trust me, we need more people” instead of making the business case for why they need more engineers.

and… a few more added by Mohammed N.

6. Using so many tech buzzwords in a presentation that the board thinks they’re pitching a new sci-fi movie.

7. When presenting to the board, they use their personal laptop because “it’s the only place the code runs without errors”.

8. Promising that AI will solve all the company’s problems, including making coffee.

9. Warning that without the latest tech upgrade, the company’s servers will “definitely, probably, maybe” implode.

10. Talking about amazing results from projects that no one has ever seen or heard of.

11. Always being the last to adopt new technologies because they’re “waiting to see if it’s just a trend”.