Technology is transforming every sector, from healthcare to finance, and has become increasingly prominent in our everyday lives. This has made technical leadership essential in business, public services, infrastructure, education, and more. The top priorities for tech leaders are changing.

This article will share the new things you need to know to manage and uplevel your career as a tech leader in 2023.

Build, develop, and demonstrate your value with numbers.

First and foremost, you must know and show your numbers. Provide quantifiable numbers and data points that clearly illustrate your contributions. For example, if your role involves leading software engineering or IT operations, showcase how much time you have saved the organization through process automation or how much revenue increased through client retention. Provide details with quality metrics, customer satisfaction metrics, or any cost savings associated with implementing new technologies efficiently.

If you lead technology initiatives across the organization, use hard numbers to highlight benefits, such as increased sales due to customer experience improvements or reduced IT costs resulting from strategic planning and implementation of new technologies.

Using these types of quantifiable metrics helps prove the concrete value that you and your team bring as a tech leader and makes it easier for stakeholders within the organization to understand exactly how your efforts are positively impacting the business. 

Financial awareness with a focus on cost optimization is crucial in 2023.

Contribute to DEI on your team and your organization. 

Define and seek diversity. This will give you an edge as DEI becomes more important to leadership and boards. Create a culture of acceptance and belonging. This includes:

• showcasing a variety of perspectives and backgrounds in team meetings,
• ensuring everyone has a voice in brainstorming and decision-making,
• being open to feedback from all team members,
• offering support for diverse employees as needed,
• implementing policies that help combat systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of bias against certain groups,
• advocating for equitable opportunities and resources for historically underrepresented employees.

Mitigate any opportunity gaps that may exist by incorporating unconscious bias training into your onboarding process, as well as providing ongoing DEI training throughout the year. 

DEI is a top priority for boards and the C-suite in organizations. Train your team leaders so they feel empowered to drive DEI, as well.

Evolve your cybersecurity knowledge and risk management skills.

As technology continues to evolve, the need for cybersecurity knowledge and risk management is becoming increasingly important. 

Cyber security is increasingly important as more businesses become digitalized, and even one breach can lead to negative publicity or huge financial losses. Technological failure can lead to financial losses and delayed service if systems are compromised or if there is a failure to counter malicious activity. Having the right security measures in place is essential for any business that deals with sensitive customer data. 

Risk management also includes the identification, analysis, and acceptance or mitigation of uncertainty in investment decisions. Intangible risk factors such as customer and employee behavior can have a major impact on an organization’s ability to manage risks effectively. Both can be difficult to predict, and changes in customer preferences or employee loyalty can present unforeseen challenges for organizations.

By understanding these intangible risks and developing strategies to mitigate them, businesses can reduce their financial and operational losses while increasing their overall success rate.

As a tech leader, it is essential to ensure that your team has the necessary skills and resources to protect their data, systems, and the company from malicious attacks. Even more important is your ability to be proactive in identifying and mitigating risks, as well as developing strategies to respond to potential threats.

Balance and prioritize business value vs. cost for your work.

As technology continues to advance, it’s important to consider the potential return on investment of each new project or initiative before committing resources towards it. While cutting costs and improving efficiency is important, making sure investments yield measurable and meaningful results should always remain a priority when considering which initiatives to pursue.

To balance business value vs. cost effectively, it is crucial for tech leaders to develop comprehensive strategies that achieve the desired ROI while also staying mindful of current resource constraints. By evaluating all aspects of investment (risk, cost, and potential returns) in advance, leaders can make more informed decisions while still having enough flexibility to adjust course when necessary.

In addition to analyzing data from past projects or tasks, create benchmarks for measuring performance against competitors or industry standards for a better understanding of its overall effectiveness in meeting expectations.

By consistently assessing both internal performance metrics and external industry trends and staying agile in adapting plans accordingly, you can ensure you are making the most out of your investments in the year ahead.

Embrace and nurture a people-first, employee-first approach to managing your teams.

People-first, employee-first is the way to ensure high-performance teams and to increase employee retention (which is a great way to provide cost optimization!)

Prioritize creating an environment of trust, respect, and communication between team members. Clearly express expectations and acknowledge when team members surpass those expectations.

Provide ample opportunity for employees to develop their skills and grow in their roles through ongoing training and development programs. Foster collaboration among team members by encouraging dialogue about ideas and feedback.

Setting achievable goals and making sure that everyone understands their role also helps build a positive and productive workplace culture. Finally, honoring individual strengths while understanding any areas where team members need additional support is essential in building a cohesive team in which every member feels valued.

Employees crave connection in on-site and remote settings. Make it a priority to care about the people and what the individuals and teams need to thrive.

Optimizing people, systems, and costs is the key to everything you do this year.

As a tech leader, it’s essential to stay ahead of the curve so that you are prepared for the changes and challenges ahead. Incorporate these new top priorities for tech leaders in your positioning, career stories, interviews, and performance reviews to manage and uplevel your career in 2023 and beyond.