Episode
IT Keeps Promoting Unprepared Leaders | Tony Qualls
- Podcast
- Leadership Language
- Published
- Sep 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2708
- Processing state
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Summary
In this episode of the Leadership Language Podcast, I’m joined by Tony Qualls, Regional CIO for AdventHealth’s Great Lakes region, for a conversation about what it really takes to grow from a strong technical contributor into a trusted technology executive. Most IT leaders who get passed over are not short on effort. They deliver, they lead, they put in the work. The harder truth: the skills that made you the best operator are the same ones keeping you out of the executive seat. The business sees a technologist, not a leader. And no one ever explains how to change that. That is the work I do. I help IT Directors and VPs make the jump to the executive level. It starts with a short private diagnostic. It shows you which of the things holding you back is costing you the most, and where you stand against the leaders who already made the jump. For the right fit, it opens into the Executive Leap Session: A private 45-minute session, one on one with me I read your full diagnostic before we talk A straight read on where you actually stand The one or two things holding you back, specific to you The move that matters next 45 minutes with a former CIO, normally something leaders pay for. Take the diagnostic and find out where you stand. Take the diagnostic → https://www.tingleleadership.com/ Tony shares why IT often promotes highly capable engineers, technicians, and technical experts into leadership roles without giving them the same development, coaching, and business leadership preparation that other executives receive. We talk about the shift from being seen as an IT leader to becoming a true business leader — someone who can build relationships, influence across the organization, communicate value, and develop the next generation of leaders. Tony also shares lessons from h…