CTO fail: common mistakes

For a functioning engineering team at its full potential, hire junior and mid-level engineers with a few seniors. When doing so, the senior-level engineers can help scale the company and mentor the junior and mid-level engineers to ensure they’re progressing at the right pace.

Do you remember the Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid? Safety first. Most experienced developers have their physiological needs met already – they have children, good cars, homes and so on. They know that they can work remotely and get quite high salaries from different countries if they are good (via marketplaces like Toptal), so many of them won’t work for half of a normal salary in order to gain some glory!

You need a team and you also need a living organisation. You need every organ to be in its place. Placed with care and great attention to ensure that every part works perfectly and contributes to the whole. You can not do quick hirings.You need to be very careful with your hirings and pay attention spare no time and money to find the best cultural fit (does not mean everyone needs to be the same) in to your organisation.

You need to be a good architect although you do not need to be the best. Your best values are hidden in your work in the background. You have to give the ignition and conduct the team spirit. This job can not be easily described but it consists: hiring, interviewing, understanding finances, understanding technologies, mentoring, scaling, learning and teaching.