The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu #508 Breaking the Expert Trap: Alistair Gordon on Elevating Technical Skills into Enterprise Impact
In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, I sit down with Alistair Gordon, founder of Expertunity and author of Master Expert. Alistair has spent decades helping organizations unlock the hidden potential of their technical experts by transforming them into influential leaders.
We dive into why technical skills alone are no longer enough, how “enterprise skills” drive innovation, and why overlooking experts in leadership development is one of the costliest mistakes organizations make.
Key Takeaways
• Why most organizations underinvest in their technical experts
• The “Expert Trap” and how to break free from it
• The three types of leadership every technical professional should understand
• Why outcome-based KPIs matter more than activity-based metrics
• How enterprise skills fuel innovation, collaboration, and influence
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What You’ll Learn
• Practical ways CTOs and CIOs can unlock more value from their teams
• How technical founders can build leadership capacity in startups and scaleups
• Why democratized leadership and coaching are reshaping the workplace
• The role of AI in reshaping technical expertise and leadership skills
About the Guest
Alistair Gordon is the CEO of Expertunity, a global leadership development company dedicated to transforming technical experts into master experts. With a background in publishing, entrepreneurship, and investing, Alistair has built a unique perspective on how leadership must evolve in the age of AI, automation, and rapid organizational change.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-gordon-5a69349/
Episode Highlights
• [04:30] The evolution of leadership from 2000 to 2025
• [09:15] Blind spots most leaders don’t see in themselves
• [14:00] The shift from activity KPIs to outcome KPIs
• [18:30] Why technical experts are the real drivers of innovation
• [27:45] The innovation deficit: why great ideas die in organizations
• [34:20] Enterprise skills: the real differentiator for technical experts
• [39:15] The future of coaching and mentorship in the AI era