Eight things we believe about technology leadership
Not a checklist. Not a rigid methodology. Just a set of convictions shaped by years of working inside technology functions, seeing where leaders perform, where they stall, and what usually makes the difference.
Where this comes from
TECHSHIN is an anagram of Hitchens. That is intentional. This way of thinking was built from the inside out, not from abstract consulting theory, but from working alongside technology leaders and watching what separates those who keep growing from those who plateau.
The eight domains below map to the letters in the name. More importantly, they map to the reality of what technology leadership actually demands when the business needs more than technical strength alone.
These beliefs shape how we think, what we pay attention to, and where we push when we see a function falling short. If you agree with most of them, we will probably work well together.
The eight domains of technology leadership
Each letter in TECHSHIN stands for a domain. Each domain reflects a belief about what strong technology leadership actually requires.
Thinking
We believe the quality of a leader’s thinking sets the ceiling for what their team can achieve. Strategy, judgement, and systems awareness are not personality traits. They are capabilities, and they can be developed.
Execution
We believe delivery is a discipline. The gap between what a function plans and what it actually ships is often a leadership gap. High standards, follow-through, and a bias for getting things done are all learnable.
Clarity
We believe many leadership problems are communication problems in disguise. When scope drifts, when teams move in the wrong direction, or when stakeholders are not aligned, clarity is usually the issue underneath it all.
Habits
We believe consistency compounds. A leader’s daily habits, how they spend time, what they repeat, and what they allow to slide, reveal their real priorities more honestly than intention ever will.
Structure
We believe strong leaders build systems so the function does not depend on them being in every room. Structure is what makes good performance repeatable, especially when complexity increases.
Harmony
We believe a team that cannot function without friction is not really functioning as a team. Cohesion, emotional fluency, and cross-functional trust are not optional extras. They are part of what makes a function perform.
Innovation
We believe functions that stop asking what is possible eventually become cost centres. Innovation is not theatre. It is a disciplined loop of customer feedback, commercial awareness, product instinct, and creative thinking.
Navigation
We believe technical strength without stakeholder awareness becomes a ceiling. Strong leaders know how to manage upward, read the room, position ideas well, and build trust with people who do not share their language or background.
How these beliefs show up in the work
We do not use TECHSHIN as a scorecard. There is no ranking system and no abstract label at the end. These eight domains are simply the lens we bring into every engagement, the questions we ask, the patterns we watch for, and the gaps we push on when we see them.
Most technology leaders are strong in some of these areas and clearly stretched in others. That is not failure. It is the starting point. The work is identifying which gaps are limiting the function right now, and closing them in a way that actually sticks.
If you are wondering where your technology leader stands, the fastest place to start is a real conversation. Thirty minutes of direct discussion usually tells us more than a questionnaire ever will.
Find out where the gaps are
Most technology leaders know something is not working. They are just not always sure what. We can usually tell a lot in the first conversation. If you want an honest view of where your technology function stands, that is where we begin.