Hiring for 2028: Are Your Leaders Ready? Focus on Horizontal Skills, Not Just Today's Expertise?

The pace of change in today's business world is unprecedented. In my view Australian are already starting to fall behind current global thinking as a result of the impending disruptions likely to occur due to the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The critical question we must ask ourselves is: Are you hiring based on the skills needed today, or the capabilities required to navigate the complexities of the next three years and beyond?

For Australian organisations seeking technology leadership – particularly Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) – this presents a critical hiring challenge. Are you recruiting based on mastery of today's specific tech stack, or are you identifying leaders with the capabilities to navigate the inevitable, unpredictable changes ahead?

Traditionally, hiring senior tech professionals often involved a deep dive into "vertical" skills: proficiency in specific cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP), mastery of particular programming languages or ERP systems, or deep experience with current security protocols. We've sought the CTO who implemented the exact platform we use now, or the CIO who has managed a similar-sized environment within the same or a similar industry.

While this grounding provides credibility, over-emphasising specific vertical skills for leadership roles is a precarious strategy for the future.

Technology lifecycles are accelerating. New and future disruptions, driven by the pervasive integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), are fundamentally altering not just tools but entire approaches to technology strategy and implementation. The specific tech expertise that seems crucial today might offer diminishing returns by 2028.

The Strategic Imperative: Horizontal Skills in Tech Leadership

Success for CIOs, CTOs, and senior technology professionals over the next three years hinges less on deep knowledge of any single current technology, and more on durable, "horizontal" capabilities. These are the transferable skills that enable leaders to learn, adapt, strategise, and execute effectively regardless of the specific tech stack involved.

For technology leaders, key horizontal skills include:

• Cognitive Flexibility & Strategic Adaptation: Can the leader pivot the technology strategy when a chosen vendor underdelivers, a disruptive technology emerges (like advancements in quantum or decentralised systems), or business priorities shift fundamentally? Can they unlearn old constraints and embrace new possibilities presented by tech like generative AI?

• Architectural Acumen & Critical Thinking: Beyond knowing one platform, can they analyse complex systems, evaluate competing architectures for scalability, resilience, and security? Can they critically assess vendor hype versus genuine capability, especially concerning AI and emerging tech? This is crucial for making sound, long-term infrastructure decisions.

• Rapid & Continuous Learning Agility: Technology waits for no one. Does the candidate demonstrate an insatiable curiosity and a structured approach to understanding new technological paradigms – not just buzzwords, but the underlying concepts and strategic implications?

• Translational Communication & Influence: Can they articulate complex technical strategies, risks, and opportunities in clear business terms to the board, executive team, and non-technical stakeholders? Can they build compelling cases for investment and drive technology adoption across the organisation?

• Collaborative Leadership & Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Can they build high-performing, adaptable tech teams? Can they foster psychological safety for innovation and manage the inevitable friction between tech possibilities, business demands, and user needs? Effective integration, especially of AI, requires immense cross-functional collaboration.

Why CIOs/CTOs Need This Shift More Than Ever

The role of a modern CIO/CTO is far removed from merely "keeping the lights on." They are strategic business partners responsible for:

• Driving Digital Transformation & Innovation: This requires foresight and the ability to leverage emerging tech (like AI) for competitive advantage, not just manage existing systems.

• Architecting Future-Ready Systems: Building scalable, secure, and adaptable infrastructure requires strategic thinking beyond current tools.

• Managing Complexity & Risk: Navigating cybersecurity threats, data privacy regulations (like those evolving in Australia), and integration challenges demands critical thinking and adaptability.

• Optimising Technology Investment: Making shrewd decisions about build vs. buy, platform choices, and vendor management relies on objective analysis and strategic foresight.

• Leading People Through Change: Guiding tech teams and the broader organisation through constant technological evolution requires exceptional communication, influence, and EQ.

Leading the Organisation Through the AI Revolution

For technology leaders, adapting to AI means more than just understanding machine learning concepts. It involves:

• Developing an AI strategy aligned with business goals.

• Establishing robust data governance and ethical AI frameworks.

• Architecting infrastructure that can support AI workloads securely and efficiently.

• Evaluating and integrating AI tools and platforms strategically.

• Guiding the workforce in leveraging AI effectively and mitigating risks.

• Continuously scanning the horizon for AI advancements relevant to the organisation.

These are fundamentally strategic, adaptive challenges requiring strong horizontal skills.

Rethinking How You Hire Your Next Tech Leader:

To secure tech leadership ready for 2028, Australian organisations need to evolve their hiring practices:

• Reframe the Job Description: Focus on strategic outcomes, leadership competencies (adaptability, strategic thinking, influence), and the ability to drive technological evolution, rather than an exhaustive checklist of current platforms and tools.

• Scrutinise Experience Differently: Look for evidence of leading significant change, navigating ambiguity, successfully integrating new technologies, and demonstrating strategic impact, not just years spent managing a specific legacy system.

• Employ Scenario-Based Interviews: Pose hypothetical strategic challenges. "How would you approach evaluating the integration of generative AI into our customer service function, considering risks and opportunities?" "Describe a time you had to pivot a major tech project due to unforeseen circumstances – what was your process?" Assess their thinking, problem-solving approach, and communication clarity.

• Psychometric assessment: Testing for cognitive reasoning is critical. It is important to incorporate formal assessment into the hiring process.

• Probe for Learning Agility: Ask how they stay informed about technological advancements beyond their current stack. How do they evaluate emerging trends? Ask for examples of recent, complex learning.

• Conduct Insightful Reference Checks: Specifically inquire about the candidate's adaptability, strategic influence, ability to lead teams through transformation, and how they handle pressure and ambiguity.

Conclusion

Hiring your next CIO, CTO, or senior technology leader based solely on their familiarity with today's tools is like navigating with a map that's already out of date.

The future of technology leadership belongs to those who possess the cognitive flexibility, critical thinking, learning agility, and communication skills to constantly adapt and steer the organisation through the turbulent waters of technological change.

By prioritising these horizontal capabilities, you invest in resilient, forward-thinking leadership capable of harnessing technology, including the transformative power of AI, to drive success well beyond the next three years.