Changing Roles of Technology Leaders: Strategic Partners or High Level Mechanics?

A survey and interview study across industries found that men and women technology leaders spend more time in business than in IT roles and preferred change management over IT roles. These results support research arguments that technology leadership is becoming more strategic along with the increasing importance of business and non-technology competencies in CIO careers. Our findings also suggest that men and women IT leaders are more similar than different with regard to changing professional roles and competencies. Implications of this study for IT leadership careers and companies are discussed.