In this ever-evolving landscape of technology, one of the most common myths we still hear is: “You don’t need to understand technology to move to a leadership position in a tech company.”
This line of thought is often supported by quoting Jack Ma, who famously admitted he wasn’t a “tech guy” and yet built a global empire with Alibaba. Even though inspiring, this example is rooted in a very different era of technology adoption, when the internet itself was new, competition was limited, and the primary challenge was building trust in digital commerce.
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆.
𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁.
In today’s tech companies, whether you’re building AI platforms, SaaS tools, or digital ecosystems, the product itself is deeply technical. Anybody aspiring to be grow to leadership position must understand the fundamentals to align business strategy with technical feasibility.
Whether you are in sales, marketing, support, HR, or operations, if you aspire to move into leadership in a tech company, understanding technology is no longer optional.
A sales leader must know how APIs or integrations impact client proposals. A marketing leader must understand how AI-driven analytics shape campaigns. A support leader must grasp the underlying architecture to resolve issues effectively. Even HR leaders need to understand the tech stack to design relevant learning and development paths.
In short, no matter your starting point, tech literacy is the new foundation for growth into leadership.
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.
Today, stakeholders ask tough questions about underlying tech stack, security, compliance, and scalability. A leadership position ex: A Sales Head who cannot answer or at least frame them convincingly risks losing credibility, or end up in false promises regardless of their business acumen.
𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲.
Any position which doesn’t need to code, must be at-least able to understand concepts like APIs, cloud architecture, or data pipelines. Without this shared vocabulary, communication gaps widen, innovation slows, and morale suffers.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲
Understand the “why” and the “how” behind technology decisions. Ask the right questions to challenge assumptions and mitigate risks. Bridge business vision with technical execution, ensuring alignment.
In other words, leadership in today’s tech world requires business insight empowered by technological literacy.
Quoting Jack Ma in 2025 to justify not learning technology is like quoting the Wright brothers to claim pilots don’t need to understand modern avionics. The world has changed. The pace, complexity, and stakes of technology today leave no room for ignorance at the top.
If you aspire to lead in a tech-driven world, embrace technology, not as an option, but as a necessity. Because in this era, vision without tech understanding is like strategy without execution: destined to fail.
