What to Prioritise When Hiring Senior Tech Leaders in 2025

You’re trying to hire a CTO, or maybe a Head of Engineering. The specification is written, the salary’s signed off, but something’s not landing. You’re seeing candidates with the right tech background. On paper, they look solid. But they’re not what the team needs.

Because the role has changed. You don’t just need someone who can manage systems. You need someone who can lead digital transformation, drive strategy, and align hybrid teams across functions.

A lot of job specifications haven’t caught up. Too much focus on tools. Not enough on leadership traits. It’s slowing down recruitment and leading to the wrong hires.

This blog breaks down what good tech leadership looks like in 2025. If you’re hiring for senior technology roles, here’s what to prioritise now — and what to leave behind. 

Why Your Next Tech Leader Needs More Than Technical Skills

The role of senior tech leaders has expanded far beyond technical oversight. While deep expertise remains important, the demands placed on today’s CTOs, Engineering Heads and Tech Directors now include strategic planning, business alignment, and enterprise-wide collaboration.

Historically, tech leadership was largely operational and focused on:

• Systems stability
• Technology selection
• Internal team management

Today, it’s a central driver of organisational growth. Tech leaders are expected to:

• Engage with C-suite peers
• Shape digital transformation agendas
• Translate business goals into scalable technology strategies

Another defining change is the rise of hybrid and cross-functional delivery models. Modern leaders must:

• Inspire productivity across remote and hybrid teams
• Integrate delivery with product, marketing and operations
• Lead through complexity and ambiguity

This means that influence, communication and adaptability matter as much as coding languages or architecture choices. This evolution reflects a wider trend in that technology is no longer a support function. It’s a strategic enabler and the people leading it must be equipped to perform in a broader, more commercially driven arena.

Hiring a CTO or Head of Engineering? Focus on These Traits

As the demands on tech teams continue to shift, the most successful tech leaders demonstrate a balance of technical credibility and strategic capability. According to Harvard Business Review, broadening leadership skill sets has become essential to meet the complexity of today’s work environments.

Here are five traits that distinguish high-performing CTOs, Heads of Engineering and Tech Directors:

1. Strategic Vision and Commercial Focus

Modern tech leaders contribute to the wider business agenda. They understand how technology underpins commercial goals and make decisions that align with long-term value. Their influence extends into board-level conversations about growth, risk, and innovation.

2. Cross-Functional Collaboration

Senior tech leaders no longer operate in silos. They work closely with functions like product, operations, finance and marketing, ensuring alignment between technical delivery and business priorities. Collaboration builds stronger outcomes and faster execution.

3. People-First and Inclusive Team Leadership

The ability to lead diverse, hybrid, and globally distributed teams is essential. Today’s leaders champion psychological safety, support wellbeing, and foster inclusive cultures that enable talent to thrive. They’re coaches and mentors as much as they are decision-makers.

4. Agility in Adapting to Change

From shifting customer expectations to emerging technologies, senior tech professionals face constant disruption. Effective leaders embrace change and guide teams through transition with confidence. Agility is as much about mindset as it is about process.

5. Hybrid Delivery and Tech-Enabled Oversight

Delivery today spans locations, systems, and methodologies. Tech leaders must enable consistent output across distributed teams by investing in tools, process maturity and clear communication frameworks. Visibility, accountability, and delivery quality all stem from thoughtful hybrid design.

Where Traditional Hiring Models Fall Short

Many organisations continue to rely on outdated models when recruiting for senior tech roles. These often emphasise legacy systems knowledge, rigid technical checklists, or specific tools, while overlooking the broader leadership capabilities required to succeed in today’s environment.

Some of the most common pitfalls include:

• Overemphasis on narrow technical expertise: Prioritising specific coding languages or systems over commercial awareness, adaptability, and people leadership.
• Static job specifications: Specs that haven't been updated in years, failing to reflect evolving delivery models or hybrid working norms.
• One-dimensional interviews: Technical deep dives with little assessment of communication, stakeholder engagement, or cultural influence.

These gaps not only hinder recruitment but can lead to poor leadership fit, missed business opportunities, and higher attrition. In contrast, forward-thinking organisations are re-evaluating how they define leadership success, using more holistic criteria and aligning hiring processes with real-world expectations.

How to Hire for Today’s Tech Leadership Needs

Hiring the right tech leader requires more than updating a job title. It starts with redefining what success looks like in the role. Rather than listing technologies or legacy systems experience, employers need to focus on leadership behaviours, cross-functional influence, and the ability to deliver outcomes in hybrid environments.

That means writing job specifications that highlight commercial awareness and inclusive leadership. It also means creating interview processes that assess communication skills, adaptability, and stakeholder alignment, not just technical competence.

Companies that get this right often look beyond their immediate industry. By widening the talent pool to include leaders from adjacent sectors with relevant experience in scale, transformation or product delivery, employers can unlock new strengths and perspectives.

Partnering with a specialist tech recruitment agency can also make a tangible difference. Agencies like McGregor Boyall offer access to pre-screened candidates, deep market knowledge, and real-world insight into leadership assessment, ensuring your hiring process aligns with your business strategy.

The Business Impact of Modern Leadership

Getting tech leadership has a clear and direct impact on business performance. When senior tech leadership roles such as CTOs and Heads of Engineering are aligned with modern expectations, the benefits are seen across delivery, retention, innovation, and long-term growth.

Faster, more reliable delivery

Modern tech leaders enable teams to operate with greater efficiency, even in hybrid or remote setups. They implement clearer structures, mature tooling, and more effective communication frameworks. All of which contribute to improved delivery quality and speed across engineering and development functions.

Better team engagement and retention

Leaders who support inclusive, supportive cultures tend to build higher-performing teams. This translates into lower turnover and stronger continuity in delivery, especially important in high-demand disciplines like Head of Engineering jobs, data analytics, and cloud infrastructure.

Improved commercial impact

Strategically minded leaders bring technology into the boardroom. They link innovation to business value, align technical priorities with growth objectives, and make better investment decisions. Their influence helps position technology leadership as a driver of competitive advantage and not a cost centre.

Risk reduction and greater resilience

With the right tech leadership in place, businesses are better equipped to handle disruption whether through cyber threats, shifting market conditions, or talent gaps. Modern CTOs and technology directors build teams and systems that are adaptable, well-documented, and prepared to respond.

Ultimately, the difference between an average hire and a future-ready tech leader isn’t just felt in engineering, it’s seen across the business.

Build Stronger Tech Teams with Modern Leadership Hiring

Tech leadership has evolved far beyond technical oversight. Whether you’re hiring a CTO, Head of Engineering or Technology Director, the expectations have changed. It’s no longer about deep expertise in one stack, it’s about strategic direction, inclusive team leadership, and the ability to align technology with commercial outcomes.

Businesses that continue using outdated hiring models risk missing out on leaders who can drive real transformation. Rethinking what you look for, and how you assess it, is essential to building resilient, high-performing tech teams.

At McGregor Boyall, we help organisations stay ahead by connecting them with tech leadership talent equipped for today’s challenges. Our experience spans data and analytics, cloud infrastructure, digital transformation and more. We understand what good looks like, and we know how to find it.

Ready to modernise your tech leadership strategy?
Get in touch with our team to start a conversation or explore our recruitment services and tech specialisms.

How to Spot the Right Tech Leader for Your Business

Hiring senior tech talent is high stakes. The wrong appointment can slow delivery, drain teams, and stall progress. If you’re recruiting a CTO, Head of Engineering or Tech Director in 2025, here’s what to focus on and what too many companies still overlook.

What skills should a CTO have in 2025?

It’s no longer just about technical depth. The strongest leaders bring commercial thinking, cross-functional delivery experience, and the ability to lead hybrid teams. They know how to translate business goals into scalable tech strategies and guide people through change.

How do we assess leadership in an interview?

Stop relying on technical deep dives. Ask how they’ve led through uncertainty, influenced non-technical stakeholders, or scaled delivery across teams and regions. Prioritise clarity, adaptability, and alignment with your business priorities.

Are our job specs putting the wrong signals out?

If your job spec still lists ten tools and two lines on leadership, then yes. Today’s hiring needs to reflect how the role has evolved, from hybrid delivery models to inclusive leadership behaviours. For a practical example of how to build inclusive hiring criteria, download our 2025 DEI hiring guide.

Do we need someone from the same industry?

Not always. The right candidate may come from a different sector, especially if they’ve led transformation at scale or worked in fast-paced, regulated environments. Transferable experience often beats familiarity.

Should we use a tech recruitment agency for leadership roles?

Generalist hiring approaches often fall short at this level. A specialist partner like McGregor Boyall brings deep market insight, access to high-calibre leadership talent, and a clear understanding of what success looks like well before the interview stage.