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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Ambitious IT professionals are prepared to smash the glass ceiling.
- Just because you’re a manager doesn’t mean you leave IT behind.
- Keep a keen eye on tech developments as your career develops.
Your career’s going well. You’ve delivered projects, gained respect, and been promoted to a mid-tier management position. However, it now feels like you’ve hit a glass ceiling.
While you’d love to assume a senior role and even become a CIO, you haven’t found opportunities to expand your remit in your current business or out in the market.
Also: 5 ways to escape middle management and fast-track your journey to the top
Worse still, some experts believe the increased use of AI will make it even harder to move into senior roles. So, what happens now?
ZDNET spoke with five business leaders who outlined five ways that ambitious IT professionals can ensure they have the capabilities to lead in the AI-enabled business of the future.
1. Stay close to technology
Orla Daly, CIO at technology specialist Skillsoft, advised future leaders to stay close to developments in the IT sector.
Daly told ZDNET that many CIOs in the not-so-distant past eschewed bits and bytes in favor of boardroom battles. Today, successful digital leaders focus on technology and business simultaneously.
Also: No ROI in AI yet? Try these six proven tactics for creating real business value
“In the past, as you progressed in your career in IT, you were less involved in the technology, and your role became more about leadership and management,” she said. “And while those leadership and management pieces continue to be super-relevant and important, you will also need to stay closer to technology, maybe more than previously.”
Daly said one factor behind this shift in emphasis is the crucial role that digital and data, particularly AI, play in all modern businesses.
Successful IT chiefs are expected to be the expert resources for pioneering technology developments. In fact, Daly said the CIOs of the future will demonstrate how AI can fulfill some executive roles and responsibilities.
“Now, with AI, you have the tools that enable you to complete work more easily,” she said. “I can go in and create my own agent to do certain tasks, even though my IT engineering days are long behind me.”
2. Get hands-on with digital
Fausto Fleites, vice president of data intelligence at gardening specialist ScottsMiracle-Gro, said career-minded IT professionals must recognize the game-changing potential of AI: “If they don’t understand that, I don’t think they’re going to be successful.”
Fleites told ZDNET that, even though he’s now a VP, he remains extremely technically aware.
“I can understand the limitations of what technology can and cannot do,” he said. “I would say that professionals who don’t have my background in technology must begin to understand the power and limitations of AI.”
While promotion can sometimes mean IT professionals become detached from day-to-day technology challenges, Fleites takes a hands-on approach to digital and data, even designing his firm’s machine-learning models.
Also: A minority of businesses have won big with AI. What are they doing right?
He advised other IT professionals to develop knowledge of the inner workings of emerging technologies.
“Your understanding of AI, for example, should be based on the capabilities of AI agents right now, in terms of asking key questions, such as, ‘How do I deploy into a business?'” he said. “Having the answer to those questions is how the roles of CIOs and other digital leaders should evolve. They should consider how they would run the company using AI. So, a big focus of these leaders must be, ‘How do we use AI to re-envision our processes?'”
3. Develop a can-do attitude
David Walmsley, chief digital and technology officer at jewelry specialist Pandora, said up-and-coming IT stars take responsibilities and opportunities.
The disconnected technology organization of old, which relied on outsourcing arrangements for project delivery, has been replaced by a department that works closely with the business to achieve its objectives.
“The days of technology leaders leaning back and saying, ‘Well, which of my external providers do I blame now?’ are long gone,” he said. “Everyone can see that technology is a strategic lever for growing the business and helping it succeed in its mission.”
Also: AI use is up, but organizations still aren’t seeing gains, Atlassian study finds
Walmsley told ZDNET that digitalization sits at the heart of business strategy and ambitious digital leaders have a can-do attitude.
“You’ve got to have the right mindset. Pick a cliché, fail fast, or whatever you want, but success is about proving by doing; get on with it,” he said.
“And there are judgment calls within that approach. I’d rather people get stuff done, and they deliver two things and break the third thing, than get nothing done at all.”
4. Learn to adapt
Ed Fidoe, CEO & co-founder of the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), a new university in London, said digital tools will always evolve faster than professionals can master them.
The critical skill for next-generation leaders lies not in chasing every new platform or coding language, but in cultivating the human capacities that allow you to adapt.
“Those capabilities include curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, and an understanding of human behavior,” he said.
“At LIS, we emphasize interdisciplinary learning precisely because technology never exists in isolation; it is always entangled with psychology, economics, ethics, and culture.”
Also: Your colleagues are sick of your AI workslop
Fidoe told ZDNET that a professional who understands how systems interact, including why people adopt certain innovations, why organizations resist change, and how incentives shape behavior, will always be in demand.
“For example, an AI system is not just about algorithms: it raises legal, social, and environmental questions,” he said. “Futureproofing your career means learning how to ask the right questions across those dimensions and building resilience in your thinking. The professionals who thrive won’t be those who memorize today’s tools, but those who can make sense of tomorrow’s complexity.”
5. Build a network
Ankur Anand, group CIO at global technology and talent solutions provider Nash Squared, is another business leader who said that successful up-and-coming leaders must embrace a mindset of continuous learning.
“Be curious — explore and learn about new technologies and techniques, especially AI. Look for opportunities to utilize AI and experiment with it,” he said.
Anand told ZDNET that professionals must avoid being fearful of change and should regularly audit their own capabilities, considering their current skills and the skills they’ll need.
Also: Job hunting? Nothing beats human networks – here are 8 places to start
“Don’t only think about hard skills and certifications, although these are important. Think about soft skills, as these are becoming ever more critical as specialisms and silos break down,” he said. “Critical thinking, emotional intelligence, communication, creativity, stakeholder management — these are all vital attributes.”
Anand also encouraged next-generation leaders to adopt a modular mindset and develop skills that can be applied across domains, such as software engineering and project management.
Then, with all this knowledge at hand, create contacts that will help you climb the career ladder.
“Keep connected with what’s going on in the market and build your networks,” he said. “The more you stay current and the more you keep your contacts fresh, the more likely it is that opportunities to take your career forward will keep coming.”
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