The CTO's responsibility to accelerate digital business is about more than just choosing the right emerging technologies — it takes the right business leaders working collaboratively to realize the combined potential of emerging tech, analyst Samantha Searle said during Gartner’s Application Innovation and Business Solutions Summit.

Digital business often doesn't mean the same thing to various divisions, meaning everyone ends up moving in opposite directions. "Ultimately, digital business programs will get derailed if CxOs and their teams aren't aligned and working towards the same goal," Searle explained.

This trend affects CTOs and most of any executive because "as CTO, you're on the hook to deliver all or part of your organization's digital business transformation." This includes sifting through the vast number of emerging technologies and recognizing which are crucial for executive colleagues' success, she said. To that point, Gartner has observed investment trends shifting away from legacy infrastructure and application modernization toward newer tech like cybersecurity data analytics and cloud services.

But because "CTOs usually aren't primarily accountable for cybersecurity or data and analytics" Gartner urges CTOs to work closely with CISOs, CIOs, or chief data officers (CDOs) to make sure they pursue "the right specific technologies in those areas to further the strategies for cybersecurity and data analytics," Searle said.

However, Gartner data shows only 52% of CTOs regularly engage with their organization's CISO, and only 29% regularly engage with their CDO. "There's a clear call to action. If you're going to be involved in investing in cybersecurity and data analytics technologies, you need to be engaging with these kinds of dialogues," she said.

According to Gartner, building those executive partnerships is the secret to addressing skills gaps that might exist on leadership teams.

"The demands of digital business mean that no individual can realistically manage and deliver everything or possess all the skills and experience required. That's despite some of the CTO job descriptions that I've read, which clearly expect someone to have superhuman powers and do it all," Searle explained, adding that lack of in-depth digital skills is a top barrier to digital business progress.

"If you can partner with those leaders whose skills and experience complement your own, then you're going to manage to magnify what you are both capable of achieving," she said. This type of collaborative leadership is the only way for CTOs to realistically manage the amount of responsibility their role requires, she explained.

Investing in complementary leadership also benefits teams' employee engagement and "kills separation" between teams that might not otherwise interact. "It starts with you being aware of your own strengths and your gaps and an understanding of your leadership approach to balance the gap of others or seeking out others who are also going to complement your own gaps," Searle said.

Even for organizations without C-level data or security executives, there is likely someone at the VP or department head level with a subset of CISO or CDO responsibilities that CTOs should be engaging with. "Think in terms of the key responsibilities here, and that will help you figure out who the right people are to talk to."