What it takes to step into a C-level technology role

You’ve led several digital transformation initiatives and delivered financial impacts. Executives recognize your change leadership competencies, having improved both customer and employee experiences. The architectures you helped roll out are now platform standards and are foundational to your organization’s data and AI strategies.

Now, you’re asking whether you’re ready for a CIO role, or another C-level role in data, digital, or security. 

CIO.com’s 24th annual State of the CIO reports that over 80% of CIOs say their role is becoming more digital- and innovation-focused, that they are more involved in leading digital transformation, and that the CIO is becoming a changemaker. If you’re checking these boxes, you should be asking how you can step up into a C-level job.

Transformation leaders are excellent C-level candidates

Leading transformation initiatives is an important prerequisite for C-level roles, but it’s not sufficient. There’s a significant step up in responsibilities when you become accountable for outcomes and managing risks across all IT initiatives and operations. C-level technology leaders must define a strategy that the CEO and CFO buy into and they must oversee an evolving digital operating model.

“Aspiring leaders need to shift from managing project-based change execution to taking full ownership and accountability for enterprise technology, architecture, and IT strategy,” says Rani Johnson, CIO of Workday. “They should develop deep, hands-on expertise in IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI platforms, core system operations, and data governance. They must demonstrate the ability to translate technical strategy into sustained business value whilst ensuring operational stability.”

To prepare for C-level roles, leaders should develop a lifelong learning program to develop expertise and build confidence. The 70-20-10 learning model is one approach that focuses 70% of efforts on on-the-job experiences, 20% on social learning from peers, and 10% on formal education. Here’s how digital trailblazers can apply the model in their quest for C-level opportunities.

Experience transitioning to the non-expert influencer

Many transformation leaders try to develop expertise across the full scope of their programs, even multi-year enterprise-wide strategic initiatives. Some leaders aim for full visibility into their agile programs to help steer priorities and mitigate risks.

But C-level leaders don’t have the time to get into the weeds on every strategic initiative and are generally not experts on the technology implementation details. The 70% of job experiences that transformation leaders should target require stepping into areas outside their expertise and responsibilities.

“Stepping into a C-level technology role is less about having all the answers and more about learning to lead through ambiguity and complexity,” says Kathy Kay, CIO of Principal. “Some of the most valuable growth comes from taking on stretch assignments, solving high-impact business problems, and building the ability to influence across the enterprise, not just within IT. When that experience is paired with the guidance of strong mentors and peers, it creates a lasting foundation for leadership.”

Here are some tips for on-the-job experiences to seek out.

• Visit customers with leaders from sales and marketing to develop business acumen, understand buyer needs, and review customers’ end-to-end workflows.
• Mentor leaders on other initiatives to build confidence in providing advice in areas outside of your expertise.
• Facilitate a workshop because it’s a great experience for presenting to executive committees and boards, especially if you successfully navigate a blow-up moment.
• Identify department leaders who are detractors to adopting new technologies and find ways to break through their status-quo thinking.
• Become a change agent by partnering with select operations teams that lag in using data for decision-making and in adopting AI to drive efficiencies.

A second area to develop is the skills to listen, challenge, adapt, and pivot. Successful C-level leaders have to sell a vision and continuously plan, but also sense when market, customer, investor, and stakeholder needs require a reset of objectives.

“New technologies, shifting business priorities, and unexpected challenges can render even the best-laid plans obsolete overnight,” says Cameron Daniel, CTO of Megaport. “Successful leaders don’t just respond to change as it happens; they anticipate it and make sure their teams are prepared and equipped to handle it. As CTO, you serve as the chief architect of this adaptability, ensuring that your solution evolves alongside innovation while continuing to drive business impact and strategic goals.”

Focus social learning on AI and emerging technologies

There’s a lot of hype around generative AI and when artificial generative intelligence will emerge. Boards and executive leaders expect C-level leaders to filter the noise, lead the AI strategy, and establish data and AI governance.

C-level technical leaders can’t rely on press releases and small POCs to develop realistic AI visions that can deliver near-term ROI. Top C-level leaders expand their knowledge by networking with peers and joining communities to learn where others are investing and how they are delivering AI business outcomes. 

Communities to consider joining include:

• CIO Association of Canada
• Digital Trailblazer Community
• Gartner Peer Community
• Global CIO Forum
• HotTopics CIO Community
• IDC CIO Executive Council
• Inspire Leadership Network 
• MIT Sloan CIO Community
• Society of Information Management (SIM)
• Women Tech Network

Many of these communities are open to tech leaders aspiring to C-level roles.

At a recent Coffee With Digital Trailblazers, we discussed how transformation leaders prepare to take the C-level leadership baton and how social learning can happen inside the company as well. For example, Derrick Butts, founder and vCISO at Continuums Strategies, suggested joining the team working on AI threat detection and triaging different types of AI-enabled automated attacks.

Joe Puglisi, growth strategist and fractional CIO, added that being curious and asking many “why” questions is key to unlocking AI opportunities: “If you’re not curious and don’t get to the root of the reason things are done the way they’re done, you’ll never invent that new, better, faster, smarter, cheaper way that’s going to bring new customer satisfaction levels, new products to your customers, new revenue sources, or cost reductions.”

One more area to focus on for social learning about AI opportunities is meeting with subject-matter experts who can fully explain the data underlying a business operation. Jamie Hutton, CTO of Quantexa, says, “As agentic AI becomes a reality, data literacy becomes a core leadership skill. If you can’t explain where your data comes from, you can’t responsibly deploy AI on top of it. Humans and AI agents will be working side by side much sooner than most realize.”

Social learning by asking “why” questions, meeting security teams that respond to AI security issues, and reviewing data from business operations can help formulate ideas on where AI can deliver sizable benefits. “The fastest path to C-level is by seeking out ‘bet-the-company’ problems,” says Miles Ward, CTO of SADA, an Insight company.

Don’t eliminate formal learning

Many C-level leaders find the job too demanding and time-consuming, and leave formal learning activities as a nice-to-have. Lifelong learners recognize that a 10% commitment to reading, listening, viewing, coursework, and other learning experiences can expand their mindsets and expose them to new concepts. Learning is not just about skill development.

“In a time of rapid innovation, the 70-20-10 rule is inadequate, and that 10% formal education needs to increase,” suggests Cindi Howson, chief data and AI strategy officer at  ThoughtSpot. “However, it’s critical to look for the right formal education as executive training is rapidly out of date.”

Howson recommends “vibe learning” with hands-on mini classes and timely summits featuring peer-to-peer network from leaders at the cutting edge of AI innovation.

Other learning opportunities include:

• Reading books from these lists of must-read digital transformation books, recommended reading from CIOs, and the top 40 books for CIOs.
• Listening to frequent top-listed CIO podcasts, including CIO Leadership Live,  CXOTalk, Technovation with Peter High, and CIO in the Know.
• Reviewing online learning opportunities such as LinkedIn’s Executive Leadership and CIO courses on Udemy.

A bigger commitment is to consider CTO degree programs from academic institutions such as Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, Wharton, and others.

C-level roles are not for everyone. On a scale of 1-10, 43% of CIOs rated the job 8 or higher on a stress level scale in CIO.com’s State of the CIO. So, for those aspiring to C-level roles, make sure to thoroughly understand the role before making it a career objective.