Joseph Smith

About Joseph Smith

Most IT Managers are not held back by skill.They are held back because their company benefits from keeping them buried in the weeds.I learned that the hard way.I didn’t start in IT. I started as a warehouse manager with no degree and no technical background. Four years later, I was promoted six times and became CIO at age 30.Six promotions.Four years.No college degree.CIO by 30.My team scaled from 6 to more than 60.We maintained 99.9 percent uptime, which leadership credited as a 67 percent ROI improvement. I earned two Microsoft Pinnacle Awards, two CIO of the Year awards for the State of Georgia, and John Maxwell’s Leader of the Year Award. I worked on multimillion dollar projects for Coca Cola, IBM, Cox Communications, and others.None of that happened because I was the smartest technician.It happened because I learned the truth:Technical mastery keeps you buried.Leadership visibility moves you up.Most IT Managers fix everything quietly, and the business never sees the impact. They become the backbone of operations yet never the obvious choice for promotion. That invisibility cost me years until I learned how to lead in a way executives could not ignore.I later built IT Manager Success University and helped more than ten IT Managers become CIOs in their dream roles, many with 80 percent salary jumps.Today, I run The IT Leadership Edge, helping IT Managers and IT Directors break the technical ceiling and step into real leadership.Here is what we build together:• Executive communication that lands with decision makers• A leadership identity that positions you for the next level• Visibility that gets you noticed without bragging• Strategic influence that earns respect• Confidence, presence, and clarity in every roomIf you feel stuck between “reliable” and “recognized,” I’ve lived it. I broke out of it. I help others do the same.Your next promotion is not about learning more technology.It is about learning to lead in a way the business cannot ignore.DM me the word PROMOTION or use my Featured section to book a 45 minute Strategy Session.

Experience

1. President

   Hum Jam

   Oct 2023 — Present · Portland, OR, US

   Marketing trainer and researcher for the new HumJAM Digital Agency certification series coming out this fall and winter. Stay tuned!

Education

• Georgia State University

  Business Administration and Management, General

  1988 — 1992

• Berklee College of Music

  Specialty in Percussion, Percussion Instruments

  2015