EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Modern day CISOs are taking an interest what’s happening within the C-Suite, and as a result, more and more CISOs are gaining meaningful business leadership skills. Is it time to impart these skills to lower-ranking tech employees?

Across the board, 66% of businesses invest in formal employee development programs, so why should the case be any different when it comes to tech leadership? Despite lack of formal programs, you can bring promising employees up to speed by offering them opportunities to engage with the C-suite, including bringing them into high-level meetings.

Turning a techie into a business leader is tough. However, the demand for strong connections between traditional business leaders and digital leaders is at an all-time high. One prominent business strategist wonders aloud if CISOs should train teams so that employees are business leaders first, and tech leaders second.

Regardless of position within the organization, modern business leaders need to be agile, to move fast, and to embrace new ideas. These attitudes –agility, rapidity, and thought leadership- are embedded within tech culture, meaning that, surprisingly, techies are well-suited to becoming business leaders.

Rather than trying to keep tech talent engaged with increasingly novel or challenging tech projects, consider introducing employees to entirely new areas of learning. Adopting a fresh approach to talent management could yield immense business benefits. For example, comprehension of business objectives, values, and risks can lead to better business outcomes when it comes to building new code that underlies critical business applications.

For more on turning techies into business leaders, visit CIO Magazine.