[marktolson]

Same path, but for the last 10 years i've been a CTO. Right now i'd kill for fewer meetings and more focus time. Starting to take its toll.

[andruby]

Make the changes you'd love to see. The CTO role is vague and broad and is defined differently in most companies anyway. You can delegate things to an engineering manager or director. Or if the company is large enough to a VP.

find a cross-section of what is valuable for the company and what you like doing

[hgsgm]

I don't think the Eng Dir will enjoy doing the CTO's job for the CTO. In 6 months Eng Dir would be in a meeting with the CEO asking the CEO to fix the glitch.

[onion2k]

Hire an engineering manager and delegate.

[jksmith]

Suggest wrong direction. Make teams more autonomous and develop the art of the backlog. Too much management is what's wrong with organizations these days.