Most organizations face a familiar struggle: technology teams and business leaders often speak completely different languages. This disconnect does more than slow progress; it frustrates everyone and creates missed opportunities. Few know how to bridge the gap effectively. Maman Ibrahim, with over twenty years in technology leadership, has made it his mission to close this divide by developing practical methods that bring tech and business teams into true alignment.
Bridging Tech and Business Talk
Maman’s career began four decades ago after graduating from engineering school, but his mindset has shifted significantly over time. “As I gained experience, I started thinking less about simply building technology and more about how to apply it to solve real problems,” he explains. What began as a technical focus evolved into a broader passion for connecting people and ideas.
He realized that business leaders often leave critical requirements unspoken because they assume everyone understands them. “It is like driving a car. You do not think about the basics because they are second nature,” Maman says. “But to someone new, those basics are a mystery.” This insight transformed his approach. Instead of only delivering solutions, he began helping business leaders articulate their challenges clearly. “Once you can state the problem plainly, solving it becomes much easier,” he adds.
Fixing the Disconnect Between Collaboration
The root cause of the divide is not what most people think. “It is not about skill or motivation,” Ibrahim says. “Tech teams have their language, and business teams have theirs. Each department has its own culture.” Finance, marketing, and technology all frame their challenges differently, which makes alignment difficult. The solution is to start small. “You do not have to roll out a massive company-wide initiative,” Ibrahim advises. “Begin with one team, one KPI, one project. When people see that better communication gets results, the change spreads naturally. We are social creatures. Success is contagious.”
Demonstrating Strategic Value
Maman recalls a defining moment during his time leading cybersecurity audits. His team was initially seen as “the police,” enforcing rules from the sidelines. When he asked to join the information security governance board, the response was blunt: “No, we are discussing technical matters.” Rather than push back, he looked for another way in. Partnering with a colleague, he identified a complex compliance issue tied to the company’s critical infrastructure. “I thought, why not show them our value by translating the requirements into a language they understand?” he says. By presenting solutions in business terms, showing which systems to use and how to prioritize, he gradually earned their trust. “I amplified their message and made their goals easier to achieve,” Maman explains. After two years, the shift was complete: “Instead of inviting me as a guest, they made me a permanent member because I was already taking ownership of cyber risk. It just made sense.”
The Iceberg Principle – Seeing Beyond the Surface
Maman uses a powerful metaphor to explain why collaboration often stalls. “Think of an iceberg. We only see the tip, but the majority, the 80 percent under the water, is invisible to us.” Building trust means going deeper. “When you show people that you understand not just what is visible but also the foundation beneath it, that is when real trust forms,” he says. “At that point, it is not about winning or losing. You succeed together.”
AI as a Bridge
Maman sees artificial intelligence as a game-changer in bridging these divides. Having experimented with artificial neural networks 30 years ago and recently completed MIT’s AI program, he has seen how AI has matured. “The skills needed to leverage AI today are becoming less technical,” he notes. This accessibility is helping business leaders better understand technology while giving tech teams more intuitive ways to communicate complex ideas. The future isn’t AI instead of humans; AI-augmented humans will outperform AI and humans working separately.
Follow Maman Ibrahim on LinkedIn for practical insights on uniting tech and business through communication.
