7 Habits That Turn CTOs Into High‑Impact Leaders

Will you become an outstanding CTO? I believe you can.

On a Monday at 10:30 am, Jon, the CTO of ACME, faces a critical decision: whether to migrate the Ruby on Rails stack to Python after a month of delays and team‑raised risks. He hears various suggestions, votes, and options, yet worries he lacks complete information and fears a wrong move. How should he proceed?

For a CTO, rapid high‑quality decision‑making is essential. This article discusses how to make swift, insightful decisions and adopt seven habits of highly successful CTOs.

My 20‑Year CTO Experience

Over the years I identified seven habits shared by the most successful leaders. Whether you are a veteran CTO or a new director, mastering these habits can accelerate your career.

Habit 1: Make Fast, High‑Quality Decisions

Jon must decide now whether to order an immediate tech‑stack migration, set a completion date, or even let go of staff. A CTO must confront difficulty and make impactful choices.

Since we never have 100 % certainty, use these three tips to break indecision and act:

Apply the 80/20 rule: when you have about 80 % of the information, proceed decisively.

Establish a lightweight decision‑process offering multiple options and implementation plans, saving hours and multiplying decision effectiveness.

Manage risk by following proven frameworks such as the book Waltzing With Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects , which defines strong processes to identify and mitigate threats.

Habit 2: Know When to Code

A successful CTO decides how much personal coding time is appropriate. Some code 100 % of the time; others allocate as little as 1 %.

For example, at Stride the CTO spends 20 % of time coding, while the VP of Engineering codes 10 %. They can state their plan without entering the office.

Guidelines:

Adjust coding time as the team grows—e.g., 70 % for a three‑person team, 25 % for a 20‑person team.

Make decisive choices at critical moments, clarify the rationale, set calendar reminders, and revisit the percentage as needed.

Avoid becoming a bottleneck by over‑committing to code when you should focus on architecture and leadership.

Habit 3: Trust

Trust is the foundation of all work. A CTO builds a culture of trust by being open and fostering trust among team members.

Based on Dung Sundheim’s research, there are four trust elements; a deficiency in any lowers overall trust.

When trust feels lacking, ask yourself which element is missing.

Habit 4: Effective Delegation

Effective delegation turns knowledge into action. Identify the tasks you are most passionate about and most skilled at, then assign the rest so you can focus on high‑impact work.

During hiring, clarify what brings the most value to the company and use that to spot gaps in the current team.

Habit 5: Upward Management

Many CTOs struggle with managing both their team and their boss, sometimes not even knowing who their boss is.

Effective upward management means understanding your boss’s expectations, communicating progress regularly, and proactively removing obstacles.

For example, Stride’s VP of Engineering meets weekly, shares a 90‑day plan, and discusses details, while also asking the CTO how they can clear obstacles.

If you’re unsure of your boss’s expectations, ask yourself “Who can fire me?”—that person is your boss.

Habit 6: Set Expectations and Measure Progress

Just as you know who your boss is, you must set clear expectations for your team and measure outcomes. The book The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers offers guidance.

Engage each team member directly with questions like “Do you have a good method to accomplish your work?” and let them define how and when to measure it.

Provide both control and empowerment, then regularly review overall progress.

Habit 7: Timely Feedback

Reward behaviors that align with company values—integrity, autonomy, and collaboration. At Stride we:

Publicly acknowledge good actions.

Use Slack channels for daily wins.

Hold bi‑weekly one‑on‑ones.

We hire, operate, and even let go of employees based on these values. When giving feedback, remember:

Use “and” instead of “but” to frame comments.

Focus on what people can improve.

Be prepared to make mistakes yourself.

Ready to be an effective CTO? I believe you are—good luck!

Translator: 21CTO Community Original: https://medium.com/cto-school/7-habits-of-highly-successful-ctos-52bb90e3b1d2