5 ways to climb the IT career ladder in 2026, according to those who made it

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Experts fearfulness automation could mean less routes to the top.
• In a competitory labour market, would-be integer leaders indispensable basal out. 
• Exploit opportunities, collaborate with your peers, and instrumentality responsibility.

There's wide statement that the emergence of AI means technology has ne'er been much important to the business. However, the cardinal relation of integer and information doesn't needfully mean IT professionals person accrued opportunities to emergence into elder absorption positions.

Experts are acrophobic that the accrued capabilities of gen AI and agents could mean that galore tasks antecedently fulfilled by professionals are automated. Add increased decentralization for IT decision-making, and what was erstwhile a structured ascent connected the vocation ladder from inferior developer up to CIO has go importantly much complicated.

Also: Dreading AI occupation cuts? 5 ways to future-proof your vocation - earlier it's excessively late

However, what's already wide is that companies volition inactive necessitate talented technologists to support a quality successful the loop and oversee integer translation initiatives. If you privation to presumption yourself correctly to snare 1 of these roles successful a competitory labour market, present are 5 areas to absorption connected successful 2026.

1. Talk astir possibilities

Art Hu, planetary CIO astatine Lenovo, said it's important not to get overly hung up connected occupation titles. While up-and-coming IT professionals mightiness aspire to beryllium CIOs, what's much important than the relation they fulfil is the capabilities they possess.

"People who person that fluency, who person a bid of some the exertion and the concern realms, are comfy astatine the intersection, and tin assistance bring radical together, I deliberation the interdisciplinary aspects of that are key," helium said.

Hu told ZDNET that elder IT professionals who are focused connected moving the information halfway are improbable to proceed climbing the vocation ladder.

"I don't deliberation that's a super-exciting role," helium said. "But the quality to convene radical and person discussions astir what possibilities are opening up is the absorbing part."

Also: Climbing the vocation ladder? 5 secrets to gathering resilience from leaders who were erstwhile successful your shoes

For radical who excel successful these areas, the imaginable is huge. Hu is simply a subordinate of Lenovo's enforcement board, and helium said the champion elder IT leaders could adjacent go aboriginal CEOs arsenic concern occurrence becomes connected to extracting worth from emerging tech.

"As the integer scale and the AI scale spell up, I deliberation that anticipation opens up," helium said, reiterating however CIOs and different elder IT professionals could instrumentality aggregate vocation directions. "I'm not hung up connected titles due to the fact that radical telephone these responsibilities antithetic things. I deliberation the titles mean little due to the fact that it whitethorn mean that integer and AI are conscionable portion of the baseline."

2. Exploit the AI hype

Paul Neville, manager of digital, data, and exertion astatine The Pensions Regulator, said helium feels affirmative astir the aboriginal relation of the integer leader.

"I'm biased erstwhile I accidental this, but I bash deliberation the integer person should beryllium astatine the apical array due to the fact that IT is the cardinal enabler, and also, cybersecurity is becoming a larger portion of the hazard profile," helium said.

"Unless you person idiosyncratic astatine the apical array who tin recognize some the accidental and the risk, and enactment with colleagues astatine the enforcement level to thrust those changes done successful a concern and customer-oriented way, past I deliberation that's a problem."

Like Lenovo's Hu, Neville sits connected the enforcement apical table, and helium suggested to ZDNET that he's anxious for this increasing inclination to continue.

Also: 5 ways ambitious IT pros tin future-proof their tech careers successful an property of AI

For next-generation IT leaders looking to impressment done 2026, Neville said it's captious to exploit the high-profile relation of exertion successful modern concern operations.

"AI has helped that process due to the fact that it's highlighted that we request radical who recognize those caller opportunities," helium said. "Not each the businesses I conscionable recognize some the risks and opportunities, oregon spot AI arsenic being applicable to them. Therefore, elder IT professionals person enactment to bash to transportation organizations of each types that integer is important and requires leadership."

3. Hone your collaborative craft

Ankur Anand, CIO astatine planetary exertion and endowment solutions supplier Nash Squared, besides recognized that the enlarged responsibilities of modern CIOs mean the champion integer leaders often person a nonstop enactment to the boardroom.

His firm's yearly Digital Leadership survey reported that astir two-thirds (65%) of CIOs are members of the enforcement team.

Like different experts, Anand told ZDNET that the modern integer enforcement relation is shifting from title-based authorities to outcome-focused leadership.

"They are moving much intimately than ever with concern merchandise owners who person go much progressive successful driving the integer strategy," helium said.

Also: 5 ways to flight mediate absorption and fast-track your travel to the top

Anand said palmy integer leaders guarantee endeavor silos are breached down, and helium encouraged up-and-coming professionals to hone their collaborative craft.

"Empathy, communication, and influencing skills are key. These capabilities assistance the CIO guarantee that determination is clarity crossed the squad astir each person's relation and responsibilities," helium said.

"The grade to which the exertion relation is siloed depends connected an organization's maturity -- it is inactive an contented successful immoderate businesses. But the creation of the modern CIO is to bring radical together, moving successful tandem to thrust the integer and concern strategy."

4. Move to the halfway of change

Anand's colleague, Bev White, enforcement seat astatine Nash Squared, suggested that, portion much is being asked of CIOs, the aforesaid is existent of different committee members.

"We are each being asked to sharpen our act, spell faster, present much -- it's conscionable the mode of things today," she said.

White told ZDNET that imaginable next-generation leaders request to beryllium alert of this pressure, but besides cognizant of the opportunities afforded by a determination into a elder IT position.

"In my view, CIO is simply a large occupation to person close now," she said. "There's a existent accidental for integer leaders to measurement up and adhd existent concern value. In C-suite terms, they utilized to beryllium mostly connected the extracurricular looking in. Now, they tin beryllium close astatine the halfway of things."

Also: Struggling to negociate it each astatine work? 5 ways to delegate similar a pro - and lighten your load   

White referred to a operation of factors that bombard radical who tally modern businesses, from macroeconomic issues to geopolitical challenges and proviso concatenation complexities.

"All CEOs are asking what the implications are for their business. The CIO tin beryllium astatine the forefront of the response, starring the information gathering and script modelling," she said.

5. Learn to work the room

Diana Schildhouse, main information and analytics serviceman astatine Colgate-Palmolive, said the value of connection skills to up-and-coming IT professionals cannot beryllium overstated.

"It is 1 of the astir captious areas," she said. "So, that's clarity of connection to your enactment successful what the imaginativeness is, what you're driving towards, however each the enactment that they're doing ladders up to your wide strategy arsenic the person of the function, and past the company's wide strategy."

Schildhouse told ZDNET that wide storytelling astir what the enactment is doing, wherefore it matters, and what the outcomes volition beryllium is captious to IT enactment success.

"When I springiness vocation proposal to folks who are conscionable coming into the field, I promote them to absorption connected immoderate of the softer skills," she said. "Of course, method expertise is important, and adjacent much truthful successful immoderate circumstantial roles. But being capable to recognize the business, recognize people, and work the country successful meetings are arsenic important contiguous for radical to beryllium palmy successful elder absorption positions."