Should My CTO Code?

While CTOs often come from technical backgrounds, their primary responsibility is strategic leadership, not day-to-day coding.

1. A CTO’s Role Is Strategic, Not Operational

A CTO should focus on:

Defining the technical vision and architecture
Guiding long-term technology strategy
Overseeing product development to ensure scalability and efficiency
Managing the development team, product managers, and other tech leads

If a CTO spends a significant portion of their time coding, they risk losing sight of the bigger picture. Coding can take up valuable hours that could be spent managing the broader development operation.

2. Coding Can Be a Distraction for a CTO

The moment a CTO becomes deeply involved in coding, they lose precious time that should be spent on high-level tasks. These include technical decision-making, roadmap planning, and ensuring the overall success of the product. It can also cause bottlenecks in leadership, where other team members are left without guidance while the CTO is focused on technical tasks.

Tip: Your team already has developers whose primary job is to code—let them handle that responsibility.

3. “But We’re a Startup” Is Not an Excuse

In many startups, founders feel that because they are small, the CTO should take on coding tasks immediately to save time or money. However, this approach can be counterproductive in the long run. A CTO involved too deeply in coding may overlook bigger issues like scaling the product, choosing the right tech stack, or leading the team.

The size of the company should not dictate the CTO’s focus. Even in a startup, the CTO’s main value is in strategic leadership, not in writing code.

4. Coding Is a Given, Not a Requirement

The idea of whether a CTO can code is almost redundant. Of course, a CTO should have deep technical knowledge and experience in coding—after all, their role is to oversee the technical direction of the company. However, just because a CTO can code doesn’t mean they should.

The ability to code should be assumed for any CTO, but the focus should be on their leadership, vision, and ability to grow the technical infrastructure. A good CTO understands the trade-offs between coding and managing, and prioritizes the tasks that will push the company forward.

5. Focus on Leadership Over Coding

At Fika, we emphasize that a CTO’s primary role is to lead and strategize, not to write code. Their time should be spent making high-level decisions, guiding the technical roadmap, and ensuring the team is aligned with the product vision.

Tip: The best CTOs know when to delegate coding tasks and focus on the big picture.

Final Thoughts

While coding is an important skill for any CTO, focusing on it too much can be a pitfall for startups. A CTO’s primary role is to lead, manage, and strategically direct the development team to achieve long-term success. Just because a CTO can code, doesn’t mean they should.

At Fika, we help founders understand the broader role of the CTO, ensuring that your leadership is focused where it matters most—on growth, vision, and strategy.