Written by Robert Liley. He is a Principal in The Signal Group, a Vancouver-based management consulting firm. Over the years, he has counseled several successful CIOs, as well as having been one himself. For more on this subject, or to purchase a copy of his guide ‘The CIO’s Executive Handbook’ please visit his web site at www.theciohandbook.com.
The role of the CIO is rapidly changing. Are you ready to meet the increasing demands of this new role? Before you answer this question, we need to first understand the nature of this evolution and the factors that are driving it. In my view, it’s being driven by a significant change in expectations on the part of the CEO and the rest of the Executive Team with respect to the CIO. This has been stimulated by the role that information technology is now beginning to play in enabling fundamental business operations and creating competitive advantage, something that has only recently begun to appear on the radar screens of many executives. And this, in turn, is being fueled by the continuing rapid advances in information technology which make possible so many of the changes that are impacting the way that societies and organizations work, essentially across the world. Just ask the Tunisians or the Egyptians about the impact these new technologies can have. The problem, of course, is that many CIOs are not yet prepared to meet the emerging expectations, even if they understood them. Why is this?
One reason may be that the universities and colleges have not been doing a very effective job of preparing their graduates for contemporary CIO positions. For many years now, most university programs oriented toward computing sciences or information management have been technologically focused, refining systems theory, exploring information technologies and concepts, and designing computers. But there seems to be little emphasis in these programs on managing the information resources or on delivering effective business results. Another reason is that many of us who migrated towards information management were intrigued by the technologies and their implications, often receiving very little management education or training. In fact, many of us were so captivated by the technologies that we avoided (or certainly neglected) anything to do with management. Well, guess what? As CIO you’re up to your ears in both leadership and management, so you’d better quickly learn what that entails.
In this article, I am focusing on the one key area that, in my experience, is the area that many CIOs neglect – building, managing, and maintaining relationships. According to a recent survey, the average life of CIOs is 2.8 years in their positions. This doesn’t usually reflect the fact that they’ve been promoted or moved on to bigger jobs. Most often, it means they have been terminated. And the reason for this turnover is clearly rooted in the CIOs’ failure to build the necessary relationships across the organization. In fact, I’ve personally seen several CIOs lose their jobs because they failed in addressing this most critical aspect of their role.
Relationships are of many types and have many components, and they will be different based on the circumstances. But, they are key to the CIO’s survival, to the success that the CIO continues to enjoy within the organization, to the esteem in which the CIO and the IT organization is held, and to the IT group’s ability to produce meaningful results for the organization. Neglect these at your peril. Let’s categorize some of these:
Beginning at the top of the pyramid, there is the relationship between the CIO and the CEO. The CIO position is a C-suite job, although the significance of this is often misunderstood or not recognized in many organizations. As such, the CIO should report to the CEO and be a key part of the Executive Team. If this is not the case, then the nature of the position and the CEO’s expectations of the role need clarification. Regardless, the CIO needs to build a good working relationship with the CEO if he/she is going to contribute real value to the organization. This could also provide some protection and support when the going gets tough.
At the next level, the CIO needs to build good working and (ideally) personal relationships with the other members of the Executive Team. This will allow you to become a true insider, becoming a recognized part of the Executive Team, and enabling you to increase the value that you can add to the organization. Remember – these are your key clients. Treat them as such.
- Clients and customers are the next groups with whom you need to build relationships. Clients are decision-makers; they acquire your services. Clearly, an important group with whom you need to cultivate a positive relationship. Customers are the many more people scattered across the organization that use the services that you and your IT group provide. While these people don’t authorize work, they sure can influence things, both positively and negatively. These are relationships that should never be ignored.
- Next is the relationship with your staff. Since you are dependent on these people to deliver the goods for you, you better make sure you have a positive, well-defined relationship with them, or the results ultimately produced could be disappointing. If that happens, it won’t matter how good your other relationships are; you’ll be looking for other things to do. The trick is to manage them to respect their dignity and recognize their individuality while not becoming too emotionally involved.
- Finally, there are your consultants, contractors and vendors who can save your bacon when it counts. My experience suggests that a strong working relationship here can gain you many advantages. However, you mustn’t allow your objectivity to be compromised. You have a business to run.
Unfortunately, many of us see relationship management as something that just gets in the way of the work we are trying to accomplish. At the CIO level, nothing could be further from the truth.