Q: What do you call a business executive who doesn't get any respect?
A: CIO
Ok, so the joke is a little bit lame; however, the point is clear: all too often the CIO is a non-player when it comes to whose in charge in the executive suite. He/she will spend their time trying to put out IT fires only to discover that they don't have a seat at the strategic planning table.
The Digital IQ survey came out awhile ago from Diamond Management and it pretty much confirmed what we all know. Although 80% of the companies surveyed said that IT is strategic to their company, only 33% say that their CIOs are deeply involved in their strategic planning process. Why is this? In short, I believe that the IT department is viewed as being a collection of weirdos and outcasts that do a lot of things that have no bearing on helping the rest of the company to succeed. The CIO, as the leader of the IT department, is seen as a weirdo executive by proxy and since nobody really understands what he/she does, they don't invite the CIO to the strategy planning party.
So what do CIOs spend their time doing? The gut answer would be playing solitaire and shopping on eBay; however, I'm hoping that is incorrect. The survey says that CIO spend less than 10% of their time managing IT operations. Since CIOs aren't spending their time dealing with strategic issues, they end up spending it on tactical issues and then justifying their tactics. What a waste!
One of the reasons that the CIO is in such a bad situation is because the survey reports that in only about 66% of the companys did the CEO advocate IT as a strategic asset. Without this support, the IT department has no support at the strategic level of planning.
What is really interesting about this survey is what the financial firms have to say - they get it right. They involve both the CIO and their IT departments in the strategic planning process.Why you ask? It's simple: financial firms set themselves apart from their competition by the functionality and the quality of their IT tools. They are required to develop these tools themselves in order to stay ahead of the pack.
So where does this leave us? If CIOs want to start mattering to their firms and being invited to participate in the strategic planning part of the business, then they are going to have to change themselves and their departments. They are going to have to remake their department over in the image of the rest of the company. Instead of being viewed as a group of loaners, they need to be seen as a part of the process. The CIO needs to build an IT department that walks, talks, and looks like the rest of the business. Only by doing this will he/she finally be able to fully participate in the business planning process.
Tags: business strategy ,CEO, CIO, strategic planning
4 comments:
What a disconcerting perspective. Unfortunately, it is shared by so many of the people in positions that can actually change it.
Interestingly enough, that opinion only makes me work harder in my quest to become an IT leader in a company. As my Master's in Information Systems Management comes to a close, I face the significant hurdle of finding a firm willing to give me the opportunity to leverage my knowledge and 12+ years of IT industry experience towards the position.
I have spent countless hours studying organizational behavior, change management, and strategic information management in addition to IT subjects ranging from databases, programming to IT project management. The experience I have gained while working in the industry at the many different positions only re-inforces my knowledge of what works and doesn't work.
I simply want a crack at attacking this issue from the inside. I actually look forward to the challenge of changing this perception. Unfortunately, getting your foot into this particular doorway is even more difficult than it seems.
So my question to you, Dr. ANderson, is where do I find such opportunities to apply myself? They don't exactly post these positions on Monster that I have seen.
Jay, you have asked the question that all of IT seeks an answer to! The best way for you to be invited to fill a leadership position is to show "leadership potential". What you said about the Master's degree and the other study that you've done leads me to believe that your technical skills are top-notch. However, how are your leadership skills?
Good IT leaders need to have more than technical knowledge. They need to be able to get teams to work together and accomplish tasks. This is no small set of skills to have. I talk about it alot over on my blog (self promotion time) at http://itstaffingandmotivation.blogspot.com/
Here's three quick ways to move towards what you are looking for:
(1) Offer to help - take on challenges that are outside of your job description. Make sure that you boss knows and approves of this or you won't get any credit.
(2) Determine what you boss get graded on - instead of solving the problems that you THINK your job requires, instead ask your boss what his/her top three issues are and solve them.
(3) Learn to communicate effectively - too many of us IT types don't know how to effectively speak in public or give good presentations. One place to start is (more self promotion) over at http://commfortechstaff.blogspot.com/
It's not easy to become an IT leader, but it is in your hands. Work on those soft skills and a promotion is in your future.
Dr. Anderson,
Thank you for the great advice! People and leadership skills are two of the things I concentrate most on at this point in my career. I have no problems effectively communicating up-channel, down-channel or with my peers. I am always wary of my intended audience and typically tailor my information with vocabularies they are familiar with. I use processes, functions and tasks associated with their respective roles within the organization and system to provide a more effective knowledge exchange.
I rarely hesitate to seek leadership roles when the opportunities present themselves. I enjoy challenges and learning new things. Several of my efforts in process improvement outside of my job description have resulted in 'best practice' commendations from external audit teams.
I couldn't agree with you more on what my priorities should be. I feel the person responsible for hiring you did so for a reason (or possibly several). It makes sense that 'those' should be your priorities above all else. The most relevant factors relating to me getting hired, contract extensions, or additional projects have always been based on whether or not I have resolved the issues I was hired for.
I appreciate your feedback on my question and will continue to work towards making my efforts and results more 'noticable' to those who can impact my progression. This is where I believe I experience most of my difficulties. I don't like to blow my own horn and draw attention to myself. I do see the significance of getting my fair share of recognition, but feel a good supervisor, mentor, or boss should be aware of them already.
You are saying all the right things! I think that us IT folks too often adopt a "field of dreams" mentality where we think that if we do good work, everyone else will just automatically know it.
Make sure that the work that you are doing has been requested by someone - that way they'll be waiting for it when you have completed it. Also make sure that the work actually solves a visible problem. This way when it's completed, you can present it to others as a solution, not just a completed task.
Good Luck!
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