When you’re a multi-time CTO, like Ryan Donovan, your objective is a simple one: find the next challenge that coincides with a mission that excites you. As the Chief Technology Officer at Hootsuite, the world leader in social media management, Ryan believes he has found that challenge. Ryan joined IT Visionaries for a discussion centered around how he manages a global staff from the comfort of his home. Plus he explains the difference between being a first-time CTO to an experienced C-suite executive, and the struggles of managing scale.

Main Takeaways

• Share the Pain: When you manage a global team, make sure you are not just catering to one time zone or one set of employees. If one employee is remote, your entire team is remote. Make sure your meetings and get-togethers reflect that. 
• Don’t Stop Communicating: When managing through a crisis, make sure your communication increases. When Hootsuite had to deploy work from home orders, they were in constant contact with their employees, deploying new policies and then updating employees on those policies.
• So, You’re New Here?: When you take over as CTO and you have your sights set on changing things, make that change an impactful one. Find solutions that can make the experience better for you employees and consumers.