I like the way you stated this. Just as the right technical solution is contextual, so are the leadership requirements. I will say that a CTO of a large compa

I like the way you stated this. Just as the right technical solution is contextual, so are the leadership requirements. I will say that a CTO of a large company has to have a really good read on the technical constraints. Whether this is achieved through technical expertise, or having a warchest of talented lieutenants is an implementation detail. That said, even the lieutenants can't be in every room, and if the company faces substantial technical challenges, there is a high risk that a non-technical CTO makes commitments the team can't live up to. In a well-functioning team, a lot of this can be papered over by the lower-level folks (managers and ICs) finding a way to do the right thing on an unofficial basis. I would go so far as to say that all successful companies depend on that unofficial network of clueful employees doing the right thing in spite of formal guidance. But at some point leadership is going to have to make some decisions, and when that time comes you better hope they have put at least as many hours into their relative domain competence as they have into schmoozing big wigs.