Our Chief Technology Officer is a brilliant programmer and fits our core values perfectly, but he is a terrible people manager and hates holding his team accountable. How do we restructure this seat to keep his brilliance without ruining our reporting lines?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a common challenge in tech-driven businesses. Your CTO passes the core values check, gets and wants the technology side, but lacks the capacity or desire to manage people. To resolve this, you must separate the technical leadership roles from the people management roles on your Accountability Chart. Do not force a brilliant technical mind into a seat that requires people management just because of their title. Instead, redesign your structure. You can create a specialized Chief Architect or Technical Fellow seat that has zero direct reports and focuses entirely on high-level coding, system architecture, and technology R&D. Then, create a separate VP of Engineering or Technology Operations seat that is occupied by someone who excels at people management, accountability, and project delivery. The development team will report to this new VP of Engineering, while the technical visionary works alongside them. This ensures that everyone is in a seat where they can succeed and GWC™ their specific roles. For an exit-ready business, this structure shows buyers that your technology development is organized, scalable, and managed by someone who actually wants to lead people, while your key intellectual property remains protected by your top technical talent.