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What steps then need to be taken to get CIOs back on track? Langer offers three strategies.
First of all, if CIOs want to be perceived as a profession, they have to start acting as one. That means establishing a peer organization, along the lines of Certified Public Accountants, the American Medical Association, or bar associations, that can set standards, act in a concerted way to advance the profession, and lobby on behalf CIOs with state and federal legislatures.
To illustrate his point, Langer notes that one of the biggest complaints he hears from CIOs is related to the onerous requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. "Everyone complains about it, but did CIOs lobby against it as a profession in Washington? No,"
he says.
The second key step is that CIOs have to stop thinking of themselves as just business supporters and realize that their strategic role is more important. Yes, the computers have to keep running and the network needs to be reliable, but to become truly vital the CIO has to be thinking about how technology can be leveraged to drive new revenues, create efficiencies, or perhaps transform the business.
"Learn to delegate—let someone else worry about keeping the lights on—and take the opportunity to be a driver," he says.
The third step, which often causes the most angst, is to make the argument that as the company's CIO you need to report to the CEO. Langer doesn't dispute the fact that many effective and strategically-minded CIOs don't report to their CEOs. Some have been just as successful reporting to the chief financial officer or chief operating officer. However, he contends studies have shown time and time again, that organizations reporting the strongest alignments between business and IT have CIOs that report to the CEO.
But, reporting to the CEO isn't enough on its own. CIOs have to learn how to listen, to truly understand the needs of the business, and be able to communicate their ideas to the CEO. And that may require learning new skills.
Langer realizes he is painting CIOs with a broad stroke and that his viewpoints are controversial and disputed by many in the profession. But, he contends, it is important for someone to occasionally hold up the mirror and ask whether perception—in the form of how CIOs think they are perceived by their businesses and bosses—matches reality.
He compares the CIO community to that of a boxer who, despite the fact that he is continually getting pummeled by the left hook, won't change his boxing style.
"CIOs don't understand that they need to be able to change their style. They can't keep walking into the left hook," he says.
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