Embedded leadership changes what’s actually possible
Consultants give you a report. Coaches sit on the sideline. Fractional CTOs fill a gap. None of them change how your technology function actually operates. Embedded leadership does.
The old models are broken
CEOs have been dealing with underperforming technology functions for decades. And the solutions on offer haven’t changed much either. You can hire a consulting firm, bring in an executive coach, or slot in a fractional CTO. Each one sounds reasonable. None of them actually fix the problem.
Here’s why. They all sit outside the work. A consultant analyses from the outside and hands you a report. A coach meets your CTO once a fortnight and talks about leadership theory. A fractional CTO fills the chair two days a week but never really becomes part of the team.
The result? Your technology function looks the same six months later. Maybe with better documentation. Maybe with a new strategy deck nobody follows. But the day to day? Same problems, same patterns, same results.
The missing piece isn’t advice. It’s presence. You can’t change how a team operates from the outside. You have to be inside the rhythm of the work.
Traditional vs embedded
Same goal. Fundamentally different approach. Here’s what changes when someone is actually in the room.
Traditional approaches
Embedded leadership
What “embedded” actually looks like
This isn’t a metaphor. When we say embedded, we mean it. We become part of the weekly operating rhythm of your technology function. Not as a replacement for your CTO. As a leadership partner working alongside them.
That means we’re in the CEO and CTO decision making sessions on Tuesdays. We’re in the technology team alignment on Wednesdays. We’re doing leadership coaching in context on Thursdays. Not in a meeting room talking about what happened last week. In the actual work, in real time, as it happens.
This level of access changes everything. We see the patterns your CTO can’t see because they’re inside them. We catch leadership moments that would otherwise pass unnoticed. We can intervene when it matters, not three weeks later in a coaching session when everyone’s forgotten what actually happened.
Three things make embedded leadership different
Real time context
You can’t coach a leader effectively based on their recollection of what happened. People filter, rationalise, and edit. Being in the room means working with what actually happened, not what someone remembers.
System installation
Development plans don’t change behaviour. Systems do. The operating rhythm we install becomes part of how your team works. It’s not something bolted on. It’s woven into the weekly cadence. That’s why it sticks after we leave.
Dual accountability
We work for the CEO but alongside the CTO. That dual relationship creates something unique: a partner who understands the technology leader’s challenges while being accountable for results the CEO can see.
“TJ embeds himself as a member of the senior team and works with all stakeholders to develop a high performing CTO and high performing development team. He institutes workflows and behaviours based on well defined principles.”CTO, Technology Company
Why embedded leadership is the future
The market for technology leadership development is shifting. Here’s why embedded is where it’s going.
Consulting is too removed
CEOs are tired of paying for reports that sit in a drawer. They want someone in the work, not someone looking at the work from the outside. The value of analysis without execution is dropping fast.
Coaching is too abstract
Executive coaching works for some things. But technology leadership is deeply contextual. You can’t develop a CTO in isolation from the team, the stack, the stakeholders, and the commercial reality they operate in.
Fractional creates dependency
A fractional CTO fills the chair. When they leave, the gap reappears. Embedded leadership develops your existing leader so the function performs independently. Capability, not dependency.
CEOs want proof, not promises
The embedded model is measurable. You can see the operating rhythm taking hold. You can see your CTO stepping into conversations they used to avoid. You can see delivery cadence improving in real time.
The businesses that figure this out first will have a genuine advantage. Not because they hired better people. Because they developed the people they already had and gave them the structure to perform. That’s the shift. And it’s happening now.
Embedded leadership works when
You’re a CEO of a business doing $5M to $50M in revenue. Technology is core to your product or operations. You have a CTO or technology leader who is technically strong but not yet leading strategically. You’ve thought about replacing them but aren’t sure that’s the right call. You want to see measurable change in how the function performs, not just a development plan. And you’re willing to invest six months to get a real answer.
If that sounds like your situation, embedded leadership is built for exactly this moment.