CRITICAL COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS
Managing Vision and Purpose
The Associate Chief Technology Officer will lead a team tasked with heading multiple technological initiatives. The company requires a hands-on, team-oriented leader who has broad-based credibility, and is capable of consistently motivating people to act. This individual will be a strong manager who can build, inspire, and coach teams with a passion for the business, while forging close working relationships with managers throughout the organization. This person will lead by example. Ideally someone who lets their actions do the talking.
Stragetic Agility
The Associate Chief Technology Officer must be intellectually sharp and clearly capable of thinking on his/her feet while demonstrating outstanding business judgment. This person will need the mental capacity to pivot at any point given a new technological development in the process. The Associate Chief Technology Officer will possess the analytical skills to improve overall productivity and elevate the company’s technology as points of differentiation in the marketplace. This person will be responsible for the day to day development and improvements of their “special sauce”.
Communication
The Associate Chief Technology Officer should possess very strong communication and persuasion skills, truly partnering with the leadership team. He or she should be comfortable, articulate, and dynamic in front of both external and internal audiences including ownership, senior leadership, and customers. She/he will be direct, candid and possess strong conflict resolution skills. This will include effective negotiation skills with all constituents within and outside the company.
Results Oriented
The Associate Chief Technology Officer must be performance-driven and able to provide measurable results. The successful candidate will be resourceful, action-oriented, and possess a proactive sense of urgency which is silently projected that to his or her team through hard work. This person will also need the ability to overcome obstacles to produce results in a timely fashion. He/she will be comfortable working in a lean organization, rolling up his/her sleeves to get things done. Achieving these goals while working in a collaborative environment will require the political savvy to know when to push for action and when to step back to build consensus.
Perspective
The Associate Chief Technology Officer will provide a worldly perspective of macro and industry influences to assist in guiding the company’s technology driven products. He/she will provide perspective coming in from outside the organization to aid in the collective leadership team’s understanding and acceptance of trends, insights, changing business perspectives and human resource strategies. This keen perspective should be presented with patience and guidance rather than authoritative. This person needs the ability to understand the details of what differentiates them from other providers in the market place.