Your organization probably isn’t asking “Should we implement AI?” anymore. Instead, the big boardroom question has shifted to, “How quickly can we deploy it?”
Meanwhile, CIOs find themselves caught between escalating expectations and constrained resources. Their mandate: deliver transformative AI capabilities yesterday, secure everything tomorrow, and do it all under budget.
Gone are the days when IT leaders could get by on technical expertise alone. The evolution of technology now demands a more comprehensive skill set that bridges system architecture with business strategy.
Modern CIOs navigate competing priorities — innovation versus stability, speed versus security, customization versus standardization — all while translating technical decisions into language the rest of the C-suite understands.
What specific skills will set apart tomorrow’s technology leaders? According to Nellie Thompson, Nintex’s Chief People Officer, the answer encompasses both technical proficiency and distinctly human capabilities that no algorithm can replace.
Skill 1: Balance technical mastery with business strategy
CIOs and other IT leaders face unprecedented pressure to cultivate skills in both technical and business domains.
“A modern CIO must balance technical mastery with strategic foresight for what’s needed now and what’s coming next,” says Thompson.
With new AI technologies, policies, and tools emerging regularly, IT leaders must evaluate how these technologies function and whether they deliver meaningful business value.
Two areas showcase this balance most prominently:
- AI & automation: A CIO today must grasp AI — how to implement it, manage it across a dynamic ecosystem, and translate its value into agentic, automated workflows. That means being an early adopter, super-user, interpreter, and change agent all at once, right down to writing quality prompts.
- Enterprise-wide transformation: Digital strategy is bigger than back-end systems. CIOs must architect technology that underpins financial goals, market positioning, and end-to-end organizational goals.
“IT is no longer just a behind-the-scenes function,” Thompson notes. “The CIO is a business leader, influencing outcomes internally and externally.”
To fulfill this role, CIOs need exceptional translation ability — explaining technological concepts and their business implications to non-technical stakeholders. This helps them position technology as a strategic driver rather than a cost center.
Skill 2: Change management and active advocacy
Successful IT leaders excel at guiding their organizations through technological transformation, ensuring employees embrace new systems beyond initial implementation.
“What will truly set leaders apart is a blend of change-management expertise and active advocacy,” says Thompson. “When you’re responsible for the organization’s foundational systems, most failures trace back to human factors, so guiding people through change is just as critical as the technology itself.”
The modern CIO builds relationships across departments, understanding each area’s unique challenges and how technology solutions will impact their daily operations. This cross-functional leadership approach recognizes that technical specifications represent only part of a successful transformation.
Thompson emphasizes that implementation is only the beginning: “You can nail the tech specs, run user tests, and launch flawlessly — but the real win is full adoption.”
To achieve this adoption, IT leaders must:
- Consider how systems will function in practical, daily use
- Work with team leads to align systems with real-world workflows
- Anticipate how changes reshape organizational culture
The most effective IT leaders understand that tying technology to business strategy requires clear communication about benefits and a willingness to adjust based on user feedback. Their focus extends beyond deployment to creating sustainable change that delivers lasting organizational value.
Skill 3: Ethics and responsibility around AI usage
As AI becomes more embedded in day-to-day operations, questions around ethics have become more important than ever.
“Ethics around AI and automation must move up the agenda, especially for larger or public companies,” says Thompson. “Leaders should weigh both intended and unintended consequences, including how tech choices affect talent attraction.”
This ethical dimension extends beyond risk management and compliance. IT leaders are now expected to look closely at how people use AI, asking whether systems are fair, transparent, and responsible. Questions about data bias, algorithm accountability, and privacy now sit alongside traditional concerns about performance and scalability.
Forward-thinking CIOs understand that every tech decision sends a message about what their organization stands for. Beyond considering governance and results, they’re now confronting deeper questions about the role of humanity in an AI-driven world.
“On a deeper level, executives — particularly traditionally trained technologists — must ask: What uniquely human value can’t be copied or automated?” Thompson says. “Understanding our irreplaceable ‘human essence’ is emerging as a critical skill.”
In this context, ethical leadership means recognizing where human judgment is essential — and designing AI systems that support, not replace, those uniquely human strengths. Successful IT leaders focus on creating a partnership between people and technology, where each amplifies the other’s capabilities.
Skill 4: Cybersecurity vigilance
Despite the attention given to generative AI and other emerging technologies, cybersecurity remains a foundational concern for IT leaders. As digital environments grow increasingly interconnected, the threat landscape demands constant vigilance.
“Ultimately, IT leaders need to think about risk at all times and how to future-proof their organizations through their systems,” Thompson says.
Today’s CIOs must develop comprehensive security strategies that anticipate threats rather than merely reacting to them. This includes conducting regular vulnerability assessments and finding new ways to build resilience against attack vectors.
“IT leaders need to take a proactive approach,” says Thompson. “That means looking at how to remove humans from the loop where possible, and that’s where automation plays a big role in reducing risk.”
Automation represents a critical opportunity in the security domain — reducing manual touchpoints minimizes human error while improving incident response times. The most effective CIOs integrate these automated security measures seamlessly into broader IT governance frameworks.
This integrated approach helps organizations maintain operational efficiency while navigating increasingly complex regulatory requirements — a balance that defines successful IT leadership in high-risk environments.
The evolving IT leadership toolkit
As AI reshapes the tech landscape, the most effective IT leaders will stand out not just for their technical skills, but for their ability to think strategically, lead through change, act ethically, and keep security front and center.
Putting those qualities into action starts with solving today’s problems — quickly and effectively — so there’s room to focus on bigger opportunities.
“We can deliver automation, tackle governance and security, and drive real efficiencies,” says Thompson. “But the key is to partner quickly on those solutions so you can focus on the bigger impact.”
The foundation for this strategic focus lies in getting your operational processes crystal clear and ensuring all your systems are properly integrated and communicating with each other. When workflows are streamlined and platforms like Nintex connect your various tools into a cohesive ecosystem, IT leaders can shift their attention from firefighting day-to-day integration issues to driving transformative initiatives that truly move the business forward.
Technology will keep evolving, but the real differentiator won’t be the tools themselves — it’ll be how leaders use them to create lasting business value and guide their organizations through constant change.
“What won’t ever go away, in my view, is the human element,” Thompson emphasizes. “That’s the headline for me when I think about any executive: no matter how advanced the tech gets, your skills need to center on what the tech can’t do — how you lead, connect, and drive change through people.”
Ready to transform your organization’s approach to process automation while freeing your IT team to focus on strategic initiatives?
Request a demo to learn how Nintex can help your team deliver efficiency while you concentrate on the human side of technology leadership.