The real impact that a new CIO will have after joining an organization is largely driven by that individuals leadership skills and ability to deliver, but is also framed by other factors, including:
- The perceived role of the CIO as held by the reporting point. Is it the CEOs expectation that the CIO will be primarily a technical manager that can hold their own at an occasional staff meeting, or a polished leader who is as comfortable in the Boardroom as in the data center? Is it somewhere in-between? The consensus definition of the role of the CIO, if there is one, has changed over the years, with substantial variation by industry and company. One organization’s CIO is another’s tactical data center manager, and is another’s strategic thought partner.
- The expectations of C-level peers and business customers. What has their experience been with the prior CIO at this company, or at prior companies? Do they bring an expectation of being able to partner with the new CIO based on prior experience, or will the first meeting with them be viewed as an opportunity to hand over a long list of demands, perhaps even including their plan to drive the engagement model for IT services?
- The historical success of the IT department within the company. What is the institutionalized view of the IT team’s historical performance? Are high expectations already in place based on prior performance, or is there a sense among the executive team that the IT shop has not delivered in the past? Upon taking the new position, will the CIO be digging the IT shop out of a reputation hole, or is IT perhaps on the CFO’s short list for planned investment cuts?
Following are a few tips on setting yourself up to successfully influence your new organization:
(1) Interview, learn, ask. It is likely that the IT organization is a horizontal entity and supports every other department in some way. Establishment of regular 1:1 meetings with all your new internal “customers” can go a long way towards understanding their business drivers, strategy and needs from IT. If you only see your peers at executive staff meetings when they are reporting on recent performance and challenges, mentions of the IT department will likely be a surprise to you, and may not be positive. Some CIOs feel uncomfortable with the practice of regular 1:1 meetings with peers, as they believe it may send a false signal that they are lower on the reporting chain. I disagree. Acknowledging that your peers are also your customers will help you get an authentic understanding of their needs, while building rapport, trust and political capital that will come in handy when you need to say “no” or push for an alternative solution to a business problem.
(2) Build a critical mass of consensus. There is great value in the concept of seeking out the “low hanging fruit” or getting short-term wins under your belt, although many think of this goal only as it relates to tactical systems delivery. It may also be helpful to think in these terms for consensus building for proposals that you’d like to move forward. What are the smaller consensus “wins” around ideas or approaches you have, that can be built over time into a “critical mass” of sorts, at which point it will become obvious that your approach is the way to go based on the level of support you have gathered? How will you bring others along the path to your approach, even in small ways? In most larger enterprises, consensus and alignment on strategic issues happens over time, and as a result of many smaller influence wins. Every meeting, every 1:1 with a peer is a chance to learn about their business problems, and sell them your ideas for future support.
(3) Connect the dots. Add value by drawing connections across business units and constituencies. Because IT is a horizontal organization, you may be in a unique position to see across department and business unit lines. In an organization of any size, you will likely see tremendous inefficiencies across these lines – and can bring substantial value by identifying duplication of effort or inconsistencies in approach between business units, etc. In some cases you will get push-back for challenging initiatives, but in other cases you may find that your internal customers are very appreciative that you have voluntarily taken on this role. Being an honest broker between business units will also raise your star in the eyes of the rest of the C-suite; it may come to be a core expectation of your position within the organization. Being the officer that the CEO turns to when she wants to know the bottom line on a large investment that crosses multiple business units, would be an enviable position to be in.
(4) Get to know the business needs by actively helping them to document their processes. In your efforts to learn the needs of your business partners and in the course of the regular SDLC , you may find that actual documented knowledge of the business process in question is lacking. BPM is considered a nice-to-have in many organizations and often one of the first cuts to make in trying times. Find a way to actively assist in the BPM work for that business unit; you may have people on your staff that are well positioned to drive the mapping exercise for these internal customers. Driving this BPM effort assists the business unit, increases your credibility with the business owner and improves the quality of the information you are relying upon to build systems, thereby increasing your chances of a successful outcome.
What additional suggestions do you have for a new CIO looking to make progress and positively influence their organization?
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