|
I was pondering this issue the other day after speaking recently with some CIOs who have come from different parts of the organization.
Ultimately, I don’t think there’s a single answer to this question.
But it’s worth considering. And there are certainly market trends that are influencing the current and future make-up of IT leaders.
Over the past decade, an increasing number of CEOs have tapped line-of-business leaders and functional leaders (i.e. head of procurement or international operations) to serve as CIO. This type of cross-pollination has occurred for a few reasons. CEOs want IT leaders who are more grounded in the business. In some cases, the CEO has a lieutenant on hand who has a proven track record for achieving results. So in their time of need, CEOs turn to someone they can count on to run the IT organization and align with the business’ needs. Or at least attempt to.
It’s hardly an apples-to-apples analogy but it reminds me of something one of my former editors once shared with me about IT journalism: you can teach a good reporter to write about technology but you can’t necessarily teach a technologist to write. It seems like some corporate leaders have taken a similar tact when it comes to placing business leaders into CIO positions. It often works with effective leaders, especially those who know they lack a technical background and rely upon a CTO or a set of IT directors to guide them through technical decisions.
Some CIOs (or up-and-comers) that came from tech-oriented backgrounds saw the writing on the wall and immersed themselves in the business and its needs. Some attended B-schools at nights and on weekends. Others simply tightened their relationships with business peers to learn more about how the business operates, the language that’s spoken by business leaders and the core drivers behind business performance.
We’ll continue to see business leaders morph into CIOs. Just as we’ll continue to see CIOs who graduate to CEO posts such as Robert Benmosche (MetLife, AIG) and Arthur Ryan (Prudential).
There will continue to be some CIOs who rise up through the ranks of the IT organization, particularly those who have become adept at working with business leaders and at tackling business problems.
But I think there’s at least one more category that will emerge. We’re also likely to see a new crop of IT leaders who began their careers in IT and were later transitioned into business roles only to become CIOs at another point in their careers.
Most CIOs I speak to don’t like losing some of their best people to the business. But CIOs are thrilled to have such people placed within the same company because they have the technical background which helps them understand how technology can be leveraged to drive operational improvement. That's a key asset to have in your corner.
Some of those same people will be well-equipped to marry what they’ve learned between these disciplines and evolve to become future CIOs.
Where do you see the future CIO coming from?
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
