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- Chief information, technology, and data officers are increasingly leading cross-functional teams as companies pursue sweeping digital overhauls.
- That's putting new burdens on those leaders to match their tech chops with leadership skills. Such a requirement wasn't as necessary when they were tasked with more mundane tasks, like overseeing back-office applications.
- Alongside executive training programs, CTOs, CDOs, and CIOs are turning to management and strategy books to, among other things, learn how to best influence employees and understand how advanced technology like AI will reverberate through the organization.
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The "digital-first" strategy increasingly employed by companies across corporate America is giving IT leaders new authority within organizations.
Chief technology, data, and information officers are largely the individuals tasked with leading those modernization efforts. As a result, they often have direct access to the CEO and the board of directors - sometimes for the first time.
While they are now in charge of much more than just back-office technology, it also means they're required to learn how to become cross-functional leaders who can maintain their tech chops and still being able to speak in language that executives in business sectors like sales, supply chain operations, and human resources will understand.
To help make that shift, many CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs turn to management and strategy books to supplement other education and training opportunities.
We asked several leaders across a variety of industries to provide their top recommendations for aspiring tech chiefs who hope to one day lead their own digital transformation efforts.