Happy you just got offered that CTO role? It could ruin your career.

It could be a trap!

Here are the signs:

I have met so many first, second time and female (or other minority) CTOs have their careers ruined by a bad CTO role.

One female CTO was working in a company of 30,000 staff but didn’t go into the role with eyes wide open.

Same for a first time CTO who went into a startup without fully understanding the story of the company and why they needed him now.

Warning signs that this is a bad career move (at the offer stage):

Startups:

- They have not clear idea of what success looks like for the role

- There was a recent exodus of people

- They have no clear business strategy or idea how to reach product market fit.

Corporate / Enterprises:

- There is ambiguity about why the previous person left or how the role came about, there’s no history provided on the role

- They seem to make decisions based on relationships and feelings rather than data

- They are not upfront when discussing their offer about where/how they see you adding value considering the current situation of the department you will be leading.

What other bad signs have you seen before taking on a role or very early in that role?