The LIT Framework™
From Technologist to Technology Leader
Are you ready to move beyond conventional technology leadership? The LIT Framework isn’t just another methodology, it’s a shift in how entire technology teams learn to think and act at a CTO level tackling challenges with clarity, influence, and lasting impact.
What’s the LIT Framework?
LIT stands for Leader, Innovator, and Technologist. It’s a systematic way to build CTO-level thinking as everyday practice across your whole tech team.
Why it matters
Most people in tech stay in one lane. They code, ship tasks, and follow directions. The LIT Framework helps you step up, see across the lanes, and make things better. It turns delivery into leadership by combining the lenses of Leader, Innovator, and Technologist in daily decisions.
Being LIT isn’t a title, it’s a mindset. When you bring all three together, you become the person others trust, follow, and count on when it matters most.
Leader
Align tech with the mission, inspire teams, and communicate clearly.
You connect technology to business strategy, build alignment, and create momentum. Three of the seven LIT Moves live here, shaping how you influence, set direction, and lead with impact.
Innovator
Create value by turning ideas into measurable outcomes.
You cultivate exploration, spot opportunities, and translate possibilities into ROI. Three LIT Moves sit here, guiding how you test, learn, and scale what works.
Technologist
Keep technical credibility while making sound architectural calls.
You evaluate technologies with judgement and design for now and next. One LIT Move anchors this pillar, strengthening depth and decisions that last.
The power of the three pillars
The transformation happens at the intersection of Leader, Innovator, and Technologist, brought to life through seven LIT Moves across four learning areas. Since 2011, more than 200 technology leaders have advanced their careers using the LIT Framework.
Timothy Hitchens, Creator of the LIT Framework
The 7 LIT Moves
A systematic set of repeatable capabilities that turn Order Takers into Impact Makers. Used together, they build CTO-level thinking across your whole tech team and tie every decision to business outcomes.
Built for whole-team use: clear decision rules, simple operating rhythms, and light guardrails that make the LIT Framework an everyday practice in stand-ups, reviews, planning, and incidents.
Move 1: Master Yourself
Pillar: Foundation → Excellence
Daily Mantra: "Personal excellence before leadership influence"
Personal discipline and systems that enable consistent leadership effectiveness. You build rituals for time management, continuous learning, and staying connected to business performance whilst maintaining technical edge.
Move 2: Deliver Relentlessly
Pillar: Execution → Credibility
Daily Mantra: "Execution excellence builds all credibility"
Consistent delivery of technical solutions that create measurable business value. You follow through reliably under pressure, optimise resources effectively, and ensure technical excellence translates directly into business outcomes.
Move 3: Take Ownership
Pillar: Technologist → Leader
Daily Mantra: "Decisions over delays"
Strategic judgement that connects technical decisions to business outcomes and future opportunities. You weigh technical depth against business impact, conduct cost benefit analysis, and see around corners to anticipate challenges.
Move 4: Know the Mission
Pillar: Innovator → Strategist
Daily Mantra: "Why before what"
Understanding products and markets well enough to create competitive advantage through technology. You spot customer needs, identify market opportunities, and calculate how technical innovations drive ROI and revenue growth.
Move 5: Speak with Purpose
Pillar: Leader → Communicator
Daily Mantra: "Outcomes not output"
Communication that translates complex ideas into action and alignment. You make technical concepts understandable to business audiences, speak confidently about ROI, and ensure everyone understands what you're building and why it matters.
Move 6: Build Systems
Pillar: Leader → Architect
Daily Mantra: "Scale through structure, not just people"
Designing processes and systems that scale innovation and empower teams. You create organisational structures that support technical excellence and business growth whilst building delegation frameworks that multiply your impact.
Move 7: Grow Others
Pillar: Individual → Multiplier
Daily Mantra: "Multiply through people and culture"
Building relationships and team dynamics that drive collective success. You create environments where teams thrive, resolve conflicts constructively, and foster collaboration that bridges technical and business objectives with emotional intelligence.
Make LIT real in your team
A quick check and the outcomes you should see when the balance is right.
đź§Signs your LIT balance is off
- •Decisions bunch at the top while others wait.
- •Incidents end without a named owner, next update time, and one prevention step.
- •Design reviews debate details but trade-offs and decision rules are unclear.
- •Plans slip because priorities, owners, and next steps aren’t visible.
- •Seniors firefight while mid-levels report status.
- •A few heroes carry delivery and standards vary across teams.
- •Stand-ups and 1:1s track activity instead of driving outcomes.
- •Light guardrails are missing, so quality relies on memory and goodwill.
✅What changes when it’s fixed
- âś“Decisions move faster at every layer.
- âś“Incidents close with owners, timelines, and prevention baked in.
- âś“Design reviews make trade-offs explicit and repeatable.
- âś“Plans hold because priorities and ownership are visible.
- âś“Mid-levels grow, seniors stop firefighting.
- âś“Shared standards replace heroics.
- âś“Rituals drive outcomes, not updates.
- âś“Light systems make good choices the default.
If several of these ring true, we provide a proven, systematic implementation of the LIT Framework through Embedded Leadership.
See how Embedded Leadership works