4/22/25 2:45 AM

Balancing Act: How CTOs Can Reclaim Time for Strategic Planning

6:41

The role of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is often viewed as a pinnacle of strategic leadership in technology, guiding organizations toward innovation and growth. However, the reality for many CTOs—especially in mid-sized firms with 100–1,000 employees and revenues over $50 million—is a demanding schedule filled with meetings, support tasks, and one-on-one interactions. This leaves limited time for the strategic planning that defines the role. Recent insights suggest that CTOs spend a significant portion of their day on operational duties, with only a fraction dedicated to long-term vision. As a fractional CTO, I’ve observed this firsthand, working with executives to navigate these challenges. This blog explores how much time CTOs truly get to strategize, drawing on data from credible online sources, and offers a professional perspective on balancing these responsibilities to maximize impact.

The Time Allocation Challenge

Understanding a CTO’s time allocation begins with recognizing the multifaceted nature of the role. According to a 2024 article from Forbes, CTOs typically spend eight to ten years climbing to this position, gaining expertise across development, security, and leadership. Yet, the day-to-day reality often shifts focus from strategy to execution. A 2017 Logicalis survey cited by Wikipedia found that 62% of CIOs—whose roles often overlap with CTOs—spend 60% or more of their time on day-to-day IT activities, a trend likely mirrored by CTOs in similar settings. This suggests that strategic planning may be squeezed into the remaining 40% or less.

Meetings dominate the schedule, with ClickUp’s 2024 analysis of a CTO’s day highlighting agile stand-ups, leadership team engagements, and vendor discussions. These can consume mornings, leaving afternoons for project management and support tasks like troubleshooting or resource allocation. One-on-one interactions, such as coaching team members or updating the CEO, add further demands. The IBM 2021 CTO Study notes that 55% of CTOs engage primarily with the CEO and COO, indicating significant time spent on alignment rather than ideation. For mid-sized firms, where resources are lean, CTOs often double as hands-on problem-solvers, reducing strategic bandwidth.

This allocation isn’t unique to mid-sized firms. CIO.com’s 2025 article on the CTO role emphasizes that responsibilities like infrastructure modernization and security collaboration can pull focus from future-focused planning. The challenge lies in the balance—CTOs must deliver immediate value while shaping long-term vision, a task complicated by the evolving expectations of the role.

Data-Driven Insights on Strategizing Time

Quantifying how much time CTOs dedicate to strategizing requires looking at available data. While specific studies on CTO time allocation are limited, related research provides a proxy. The 2021 IBM CTO Study, surveying 5,000 C-suite technology leaders, found that CTOs are increasingly strategic, with 55% engaging with CEOs on vision-setting. However, only 45% report frequent interaction with CIOs, suggesting siloed responsibilities may fragment strategic focus. This implies that strategizing might occupy 20–30% of their time, depending on organizational structure.

ClickUp’s 2024 breakdown of a CTO’s day allocates blocks for strategic contemplation, recommending work-free time for reflection on trends like AI or IoT. Yet, this is aspirational—emergencies or board prep often interrupt. The CTO Academy’s 2023 guide on effective CTO offices notes that rapid scaling in fast-growth companies demands infrastructure adjustments, further eating into strategic hours. For mid-sized firms, where CTOs may oversee smaller teams, the 2022 Forbes article on staffing suggests that hands-on support can consume 50% or more of their day, leaving less for roadmap development.

One-on-one interactions, critical for leadership, also impact strategizing. The CTO Academy’s 2019 insight into a CTO’s day includes CEO catch-ups and customer support check-ins, which, while strategic in intent, often shift to tactical problem-solving. A 2024 Edstellar article lists talent retention and cybersecurity as ongoing concerns, requiring regular 1:1s that dilute long-term focus. In contrast, the Korn Ferry 2025 CIO.com analysis indicates that CTOs reporting to CEOs (56%) may secure more strategic time, potentially 30–40%, due to higher visibility.

These figures vary by firm size and industry. Mid-sized CTOs, lacking the support of larger enterprises, likely spend 20–25% on strategizing, per inferred trends from the IBM and ClickUp data. The rest goes to meetings (30–40%), support (20–30%), and 1:1s (10–20%), reflecting a role where immediacy often overshadows foresight.

Strategies to Reclaim Strategic Time

CTOs can reclaim time for strategizing by prioritizing delegation and tools. ClickUp’s 2024 strategies recommend project management software to automate task tracking, freeing 10–15% of the day. The CTO Academy’s 2022 guide on board meetings suggests prepping concise reports to reduce meeting prep time, potentially adding 5–10% for planning. Outsourcing support tasks, as noted by Hapy Co’s 2024 fractional CTO discussion, can offload 20% of operational duties.

Scheduling dedicated strategy blocks—e.g., two hours weekly, per ClickUp’s calendar advice—ensures focus on innovation. A 2024 Prey Project article highlights collaboration with CIOs to split tactical and strategic roles, potentially doubling strategizing time to 40–50% in optimal cases. Mid-sized CTOs should also leverage vendor partnerships, as Forbes’ 2024 CTO guide suggests, to shift infrastructure oversight.

A client I supported increased strategizing from 15% to 35% by delegating cybersecurity to a specialist, allowing focus on AI integration. This balance enhances leadership impact, ensuring technology drives growth.