ABSTRACT

Australian technology leaders must evolve their leadership context to be relevant now and into the future. At no other time in human history has a near-majority of the world’s population been connected with each other digitally, contributing to the accumulation of greater knowledge, yet arguably the Australian Technology Leadership Context remains associated with a discipline skill set borne in a time before the connected machine age (McAfee & Brynjolfsson 2017). 

Combine this outdated skills context with a male-dominated discipline, where a 2017 global report of 4,498 technology executives confirmed that the overall growth rate for women into technology roles is slow, with only 10% of senior technology leaders being female (Harvey Nash & KPMG 2017); the C-suite and the Technology Leadership Context is positioned for disruption. The objective of the study was to address the Australian Technology Leadership Context, the impact this will have on an organisation’s sustainability and address the gender gap in the profession, improving diversity in executive teams.  It was determined based on the research problem identified: that a qualitative study would support this research. Constructivism emerged as the most appropriate ontological approach to explore the phenomenological aspects along with epistemology aligned to Interpretivism. Further, it was confirmed during literature review that there is limited Australia-based research into the Technology Leadership Context, and therefore a methodological approach which provides the opportunity for in-depth process of inquiry to better understand the research problem was adopted (Creswell 1998). 

This study was based on the experiences of a stratified sample of Australia’s Awarded Top 50 Technology Leaders (CIO) to provide insights into their leadership, career journey and influences. The findings indicate there is a sequence for the most successful technology leaders as they traverse their careers and, contrary to assumptions, both men and women experience the same sequence for this discipline. However, the unintended consequences of well-intended efforts impact diversity in executive leadership and confirms a woman in leadership self-perpetuating role model deficit cycle. 

The Thesis concludes by qualifying the overarching purpose of the research to deliver an examination of the Australian Technology Leadership Context and, by knowing this, improve the gender diversity in executive roles. The discussions and implications explored in this thesis validate the importance of this study and by completing Australia-based research, filled a gap in empirical data, provided theoretical analysis linked to technology leadership and delivered practical frameworks related to improving the participation of women in leadership.