Hiring IT leadership has become a difficult search for many companies. These roles require more than someone who understands technology. You need a leader who can make sound technical decisions, manage teams, communicate with non-technical stakeholders, and connect technology investments to the business.
That combination is one reason IT leadership roles can sit open longer than other leadership positions. The candidate pool may look strong on paper, but finding someone who fits both sides of the role takes more time and a more deliberate search. Deloitte's 2025 Tech Exec Survey found that 26 percent of tech C-suite leaders say it's challenging to maintain clearly defined responsibilities in their role, a sign of just how much the scope of these positions varies from company to company.1
Why IT Leadership Roles Are Sitting Open Longer
IT leadership searches tend to move slowly because the requirements are often broader than the title suggests. A company may need someone who can oversee infrastructure, security, data, applications, or technology strategy while also working closely with finance, operations, sales, and executive leadership.
That narrows the field considerably. The longer a role stays open, the more tempting it can become to move forward with the candidate who is available rather than the one who is right for the business.
1. The role requires more than technical experience.
A strong technical background does not automatically translate into strong leadership. Someone may have extensive experience managing technology but struggle to explain technical decisions to a CEO or COO. Another candidate may be an excellent people leader but lack the technical depth needed to challenge assumptions or guide critical decisions.
IT leadership requires both.
2. The people who have what it takes aren't visible through a normal search.
A resume or job title can't show whether someone has led through both sides of this role. Someone might carry a CIO or VP of IT title and still have spent most of their time managing infrastructure rather than sitting in the room where budget, risk, and strategy decisions get made.
That makes a traditional application-driven search unreliable in a different way than usual: even if these leaders do apply for your job, the posting and the resume rarely tell you whether they've operated at the intersection the role demands. Finding out requires a more direct, more deliberate conversation than a standard application process is built for.
How to Screen for IT Leadership Fit
Screening an IT leader requires looking beyond whether someone has worked with the right technologies or has held a similar title. The role sits at the intersection of technical expertise, leadership, and business strategy, so the screening process needs to account for all three.
1. Look at technical credibility and leadership ability together.
Start by defining what technical knowledge the role genuinely requires. Determine whether the leader needs deep expertise in a particular environment or enough technical understanding to lead specialists and make strategic decisions.
Then evaluate the leadership side. Look for someone who can build trust with technical teams, handle disagreements, and communicate complex technology issues clearly to people outside IT.
2. Test how they work with non-technical stakeholders.
An IT leader doesn’t operate in isolation. They may need to explain an investment to the CFO, discuss operational priorities with the COO, or help the CEO understand the risks behind a technology decision.
During interviews, ask candidates to walk through real examples of how they have explained technical problems to business leaders, prioritized competing requests, or handled disagreement with senior stakeholders.
Those examples can tell you much more about a candidate's business judgment and communication skills than a list of certifications or technologies.
3. Evaluate the leadership style behind the resume.
Two candidates can have nearly identical experiences and still lead very differently.
One might be highly collaborative and consensus-driven. Another might make decisions quickly and expect teams to move with them. Neither approach is automatically better. The question is which style fits the organization's culture, structure, and current needs.
Looking at leadership style alongside technical fit gives companies a clearer picture of whether a candidate can succeed in the role beyond the first few months.
Read more: A Recruiter Explains Why It’s Hard to Find a Job Right Now and How to Stand Out
Where Companies Go Wrong in the Search
Many searches stall because the company starts with an overly broad profile or relies too heavily on what is easiest to measure.
A long list of technical requirements can eliminate strong candidates before the company understands which qualifications matter most. At the other extreme, focusing mostly on leadership experience can result in a candidate who cannot provide the technical credibility the role demands.
The talent pipeline itself can also be difficult to build. PwC's survey of CIOs, CTOs, and other tech leaders found that only 73 percent were confident they could build a pipeline for the future skills their organizations would need. That leaves more than a quarter of technology leaders less confident in their ability to develop that pipeline.2
It comes down to this: Avoid choosing the most available candidate.
When a position has been open for months, there's pressure to make a decision. Before caving in, go back to the original reason the role was created.
Identify the problems this person needs to solve, the decisions they will own, and what the business needs from IT over the next few years. That gives the hiring team a clearer standard for evaluating candidates instead of simply moving forward with whoever remains available.
Fill the role without settling.
A long search often means looking beyond the obvious candidates and evaluating the specific combination of skills the role requires.
For companies without dedicated technical recruiting resources, that can be difficult to do internally. At Journey Search Partners, our PATH (Precision, Access, Timing, Honesty) search process evaluates leadership style and technical fit together, an important distinction when the right IT leader needs to earn credibility with technical teams while also working effectively with non-technical stakeholders.
If your company is looking for an IT leader and the search is taking longer than expected, contact us today to request a Direct Hire or Executive Recruiting search.
References
- “New Deloitte Tech Exec Survey Spotlights a Moment of Reinvention for the Tech C-suite as Need for GenAI Skills, Cross-functional Collaboration Becomes Critical.” Deloitte, 16 Jun. 2025, https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/about/press-room/new-deloitte-tech-exec-survey-spotlights-a-moment-of-reinvention.html
- “CIOs, CTOs and technology leaders 100 days in: What’s next for business.” PwC, 5 Jun. 2025, https://www.pwc.com/us/en/leadership-center/library/business-outlook-100-days-technology-leaders.html
