People, Process, Technology, Business...

Anna Shipman
annashipman.co.uk
People, process,
technology, business

Anna Shipman annashipman.co.uk
There isn’t only one way to
be a great technical leader

Chief Technology Officer
Kooth Digital Health
Anna Shipman

My favourite team…

Show of hands…

1. It’s better to play to your strengths
2. How to identify your strengths
3. Our job is to deliver business outcomes
4. What you can do next
What I’m going to cover

1. It’s better to play to your strengths
2. How to identify your strengths
3. Our job is to deliver business outcomes
4. What you can do next

Constructive feedback
is really useful

Don’t over-index on
improving weaknesses at
the cost of developing
your strengths

You don’t want to be a
highly interchangeable
modular part

Playing to your strengths
is what makes you brilliant

is more fulfilling

One characteristic of
“flow” is balance between
challenge and strengths

“Building the High-Performance Workforce”, Corporate Leadership Council

Your strengths are what
makes you brilliant

Ask yourself “why
am I on the payroll?”

Peter Drucker
“Only when you operate
from strengths can you
achieve true excellence.”

I was looking to hire a
VP of Engineering…

It is liberating to play
to your strengths

You might feel you have
to crowbar yourself into
a certain shape

is what will make you great

UsingPeopleProcessTechnology
frameworktoidentifystrengths

This is about where you
get energy and joy

The people
focused CTO

You focus on
talent development

You prioritise a
collaborative culture

You highly value
employee well-being

You may not invest
enough in technology

You might have
inconsistent processes

You might have
resistance to change

Your superpower is
building skilled,
motivated teams that
bring huge value to
the business

● Give the results
● Then my strength/preference is process [Do I define why
strength = preference?]
*Slide introducing process focused CTO*
The process
focused CTO

You like standard
workflows

You ensure
systems lead to
desired outcomes

You are interested
in governance
and compliance

People might
feel like cogs

You might neglect
innovation and
technical advances

You might miss
the bigger picture

Your superpower is
systems thinking

● Give the results
● Then my strength/preference is process [Do I define why
strength = preference?]
*Slide introducing technology focused CTO*
The technology
focused CTO

You use technology to
drive the business forward

You promote
innovation

You have a healthy
tech estate

People can become
dependent on you

You may move too fast
for processes to keep up

You may introduce extra
complexity and cost

Your superpower is
being ahead of the curve

Othertoolsalsoexist

People, process,
technology, business

Business should be first

Our most important job as
technology leaders is to
deliver business outcomes,
through technology

Our main job is not
leading technology

It was a long time
before I realised this

My job is not to make
engineers happy, it’s not to get
a perfect CI/CD pipeline, it’s
not to have the most cutting
edge technology; it is to
deliver business outcomes

Your peers are
your first team

The engineers who
report to you are your
second team

You lead technology but
your main job is working
as a team with your peers
across the business to
deliver outcomes

is how you do your
best work

● Strengthen and amplify them
● Clarify how the business will not miss out on the rest
● Use them to position yourself for future roles
1. Identify your strengths

● Lean into your exec peers, you are a team
● Delegate parts to others to help them grow
● Hire a second-in-command with complementary strengths
2. Balance your strengths with others

● Identify gaps in your leadership team
● Plan your objectives grouped into those areas
● Use it to understand areas for focus in your organisation
3. Plan with People Process Technology

annashipman.co.uk
linkedin.com/in/annashipman
@annashipman.bsky.social
Thank you
Images from Succession, Ted Lasso,
Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Black Panther

People, Process, Technology, Business...

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