CSO — competencies checklist
Purpose: Hiring and coaching rubric. Not every CSO needs deep engineering; all need ownership, clarity, and client judgment.
Must have
- Client judgment: Reads power dynamics, urgency, and trust; escalates appropriately.
- Ownership: Does not drop balls on comms cadence or follow-through.
- Plan literacy: Can navigate SOW, project plan, and Linear Initiative → Project → Milestone → Issue.
- Storytelling: Turns technical work into business outcomes for weekly/exec forums.
- Async discipline: Writes clear updates so the team can cancel status meetings.
Strong preference
- Domain depth in at least one area (data, analytics, AI) when overlaying IC work.
- Facilitation: Runs effective client meetings with agendas and decisions.
- Commercial sense: Spots expansion and renewal risk early.
Red flags
- Relying on SL to speak for the account in every internal review.
- Empty weekly updates or “everything is fine” when Linear shows blockers.
- AI-slop decks — generic plans with no tie to SOW or client business (see delivery standards).
Last updated: 2026-03-23