Our Chief Technology Officer is a brilliant systems architect who keeps our infrastructure flawless, but he completely rejects our core value of Open and Honest, keeping secrets about code vulnerabilities until they explode. How do we address this behavior?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A Chief Technology Officer who hides system vulnerabilities because they want to avoid criticism is violating the core value of being Open and Honest. No matter how brilliant they are at keeping your infrastructure running, this behavior is a ticking time bomb that will destroy team trust and kill your enterprise value during exit due diligence.

You must address this immediately using the Three Strike Rule. This is not a technical issue, it is a core values violation. During your next one on one, present clear, objective examples of where they chose secrecy over transparency. Explain that keeping secrets is completely unacceptable on the leadership team.

To help them change, understand why they are hiding these issues. They may be reacting to a perceived lack of psychological safety, or they might have high self orientation, prioritizing their reputation as a flawless architect over the safety of the company. Use the Trust Equation to show them that admitting a vulnerability actually increases their trustworthiness, while hiding it destroys it.

Make it clear that their seat on the Accountability Chart requires them to practice LMA. Part of managing their department is being transparent about technical debt and security risks.

Give them thirty days to correct the behavior. They must demonstrate a pattern of proactive, transparent reporting. If they fail to change, you must initiate their transition. Keeping a toxic high performer who refuses to be open and honest is a risk you cannot afford when preparing for a clean exit.