Do Leaders Have to Be Technical?

 In this episode of the TTL podcast, Andy and Mon-Chaio delve into the importance of technical skills and mindset in leadership roles, particularly as individuals transition from technical to management positions. Their discussions are anchored by research findings, such as an article hypothesizing technical competence loss in Boeing's leadership contributing to quality issues, and an HBR article highlighting that 24 of the 100 best-performing CEOs have engineering degrees. Mon-Chaio and Andy argue that while the technical execution may become less critical at higher leadership levels, a technical mindset plays a crucial role in problem-solving and decision-making. They also look at some job postings to dissect expectations on technical leaders, suggesting that a mix of technical understanding and leadership capabilities is essential.

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Transcript: https://thettlpodcast.com/2024/03/05/s2e9-do-leaders-have-to-be-technical/

References

• The 1997 Merger That Paved the Way for the Boeing 737 Max Crisis - https://qz.com/1776080/how-the-mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-merger-led-to-the-737-max-crisis
• The Questionable Engineering of the 737 Max - https://youtu.be/hhT4M0UjJcg?si=0ldd3bN6bM2d_UPx
• Google "boeing merger with mcdonnell douglas management problems" for many different takes on whether this was a root of the problems. https://www.google.com/search?q=boeing+merger+with+mcdonnell+douglas+management+problems
• How technology-based firms become also highly innovative firms? The role of knowledge, technological and managerial capabilities, and entrepreneurs’ background - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2444569X18300726
• CIO influence behaviors: the impact of technical background - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037872060200040X
• CEO background and impact on performance - https://oxford-review.com/ceo-background-and-impact-on-performance-live-resource/
• The Best-Performing CEOs in the World - https://hbr.org/2014/11/the-best-performing-ceos-in-the-world
• Why Managers Fail - https://www.jstor.org/stable/24119148