Board Expectations of Engineering Teams

What to Expect in Board Meetings (for New CTOs)

Welcome Leaders!

As a CTO or technology leader if you’re new to the Board Room you’ll probably have a bit of trepidation going in.

Board presentations can be intimidating and the questions difficult. In fact, most leaders rarely leave a meeting unscathed. 🙀

But with a clear understanding of the 7 themes that Boards tend to focus on you can get really skilled at Board meetings.

So let’s see if I can help you make your next presentation to the powers that be a success.

Cheers,

Bobby

---

When I first started presenting to a Board on a frequent basis I wrote down all the questions they asked about the engineering team & I quickly filled up several notepads.

CTOs presenting to Boards for the first time can easily get overwhelmed by these questions, so I wanted to map out some of the common themes of questions that Boards have.

For new tech leaders the Board experience can certainly involve a lot of anxiety…and for good reason.

Boards can be some of the toughest rooms you’ll ever present in.

Typical Characteristics of Boards 👔

Here are some typical characteristics of Boards:

• They are usually comprised of highly accomplished individuals who have seen almost every business scenario you can imagine.

• They ask difficult questions: sometimes on purpose to test your leadership, but most of the time to figure out what’s best for the company.

• They may come from non-tech backgrounds, but don’t be fooled, they will know enough to be dangerous for sure.

• They might be focused at the 10,000 foot strategic level but they are going to want you to know what’s happening in the weeds of your org.

• They will usually want you to be able to chew gum and walk at the same time. Meaning, expectations to innovate fast and to do so with quality will be there.

• They don’t suffer fools gladly and usually aren’t in the mood to give executives too many do-overs when they fail.

• They sometimes know much more than you about what’s happening behind the scenes of the company.

Sounds like a cake-walk right?

But don’t be too alarmed — there’s a reason you’re the CTO.

All you have to do is understand the fundamental themes most Boards focus on and if you learn these you’ll be just fine.

But before we dive into the themes I want to show you a list of 10 tough Board questions I’ve had to answer in the past — just to give you a flavor.