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The Gist
- Evolving roles. CIOs transition from operational managers to strategic partners, aligning technology with business goals.
- CEO expectations. Post-pandemic, CIOs face increased expectations to drive business transformation and digital innovation.
- C-suite partnerships. Effective collaboration with C-suite and business unit heads is crucial for managing expectations.
In the crucible of the pandemic, CIOs emerged not just as tech managers but as pivotal players at the leadership table, having proven their mettle in navigating unprecedented challenges and business transformation. Yet, as the dust settled, the bar was raised; they now faced the pressing task of overhauling both customer and employee experiences, while managing expectations.
And CMOs and customer experience experts remember what Tiffani Bova said in “The Experience Mindset”: “Pleasing customers is about more than simply putting customers first, it has to start with a healthy, engaged and productive employee base.” For this reason, their dual challenges matter to you as well.
Amidst the incessant drumbeat of digital disruption, CIOs are also under pressure to evolve from mere participants to visionaries, steering their organizations through the tumultuous seas of digital business transformation. The question that looms large is: How can CIOs master the art of managing expectations to become the heralded architects of change and recognized leaders in the digital arena?
Managing Expectations: CEO View of CIOs
The role of the CIO in the eyes of a CEO should be as a critical functionary. While the traditional view of the CIO as a steward of cost-center operations persists, a shift is clearly underway. Increasingly, CIOs are crossing the chasm from operational overseers to pivotal strategists.
Yet, the transformation is not uniform, the spectrum ranges widely. Manhattanville College CIO, Jim Russell says, “CIOs are still split between being perceived as a cost center and viewed as a strategic partner that is essential for achieving the CEO’s vision. That is better than when the majority thought of CIOs as just a dial tone service.”
Breaking Through
In some organizations, CIOs are breaking through the back-office barriers, stepping into the limelight as architects of innovation, their counsel sought after in the quest to steer the company through the digital tempest. First CIO Deb Gildersleeve claims, “I think we’ve moved beyond pure cost center but haven’t fully made our way to strategic partner in most cases. Too many CIOs are still viewed as leading a back-office function, an important one but internally focused.”
CMOs can clearly help here.
Harbingers of Change
However, smart CIOs are becoming the harbingers of change, the navigators of “blue oceans,” capable of repeatedly guiding their ships through transformational tides. In contrast, others remain anchored in the role of “keeping the lights on,” their potential to influence and reshape the business landscape untapped, like covered wagons mired in the mud, struggling to join the vanguard of progress. These CIOs, says manufacturing CIO Joanne Friedman, “are fully in the seat at the table, others relegated to lights on roles, and a select few, as a CEO threat.”
Opportunity for Expansion
The discerning CEO knows the difference and sees in the CIO a potential ally. As the digital frontier expands, so too does the opportunity for CIOs to evolve from operational managers to indispensable partners in achieving a CEO’s vision, a transition that could very well mark the dividing line between organizations poised for perpetual reinvention and those struggling to adapt.
New Zealand CIO Anthony McMahon says he’s seeing two trends. “One is where the CIO is seen as an enabler to the business and the CEO is constantly seeking their advice. The second is where things have always been done this way. Where this occurs, the CIO is still tucked away under finance and treated as a cost center.”
Related Article: What Does It Mean to Be a Digitally Savvy CIO?
Business Transformation: Managing Increasing CEO Expectations
In the wake of the pandemic, the mantle of the CIO has become one of navigating heightened expectations. The scope of their role has been recalibrated by the very organizations they serve, with the scale tipping differently for each. Smaller entities, still in the throes of post-pandemic recovery, may anchor their CIOs to the helm of cost centers.
Yet, others, more financially buoyant, have propelled their CIOs toward the strategic vanguard, aligning technology with the company’s broader ambitions. The litmus test often lies in the reporting lines: Those CIOs reporting directly to the top echelons signify an organization placing technology at the heart of their strategy.
A Return to Fundamentals
For many CIOs, this period has been a return to fundamentals, demanding a proactive stance to not only reassess the present landscape but also to recalibrate the directional compass toward future needs. Russell says, “So much depends upon the organization’s needs and capacity. For me, where the CIO reports show the truth. Direct reporting matters. Most CIOs have had to re-assess and re-measure where their organizations are and where they need to go. But it’s not just COVID driving this. Today, we are drawn to assess new technology and blend that with the CEO’s vision. To do this, CIOs still need the basic of knowledge of the organization but now leading more urgent change vision.”
A Pivotal Shift
This pivotal shift is not just a consequence of the pandemic. A confluence of forces, including industry disruption, the advent of generative AI and evolving business models, has catalyzed this business transformation. For CIOs, the task at hand is not merely about understanding the organization’s fabric but weaving new patterns of change, integrating emerging technologies with the CEO’s vision. According to Gildersleeve, the pandemic highlighted the importance of technology for maintaining work operations. Various solutions were explored to ensure continuity, while also maintaining existing systems and processes.
Soaring Aspirations & Reality Checks
While aspirations soar with CEOs increasingly viewing CIOs as partners in digital transformation and customer experience, reality checks often manifest during candid corner-office conversations about pivotal initiatives. The verdict on such strategic redirections, especially in the context of mergers, acquisitions and project portfolios is yet to be delivered.
Nonetheless, the seismic shift in expectations post-pandemic has carved out a unique niche for CIOs, not just as operational leaders but as crucial enablers of business resilience and innovation, tasked with the judicious allocation of technological investments in a rapidly evolving corporate landscape. Friedman says, “Without question expectations have increased on delivering business transformation, tech modernization and now of course GenAI which most CEOs take as the Ozempic for all their business woes.”
Related Article: Digital Trailblazer: Drive Consequential Digital TransformationsPartners for Managing Increasing CEO Expectations
The alchemy of managing CEO expectations hinges not just on the CIO’s technological acumen but equally on the strength of their alliances within the organization. While one might presume the C-suite to be the natural ally, it’s the leaders a tier below — VP level business unit heads — emerging as the most effective partners. These leaders, with their hands on the operational pulse and strategic acumen, serve as vital conduits between the CIO’s vision and the company’s day-to-day realities. Gildersleeve says, “Partnerships are helpful in managing CEO expectations, but it wouldn’t just be one or two partnerships. Demonstrating an understanding of the business needs and problem solving across the organization is as important.”
A Rallying Point
CIOs should not eclipse the intrinsic value of C-suite collaboration, where the collective pursuit of business value becomes the rallying point. A CIO finds an ally in the CFO when the drumbeat is cost optimization, in the CMO when market insights and customer experience spark technological innovation, and in the COO when operational efficiency is the goal.
Yet, the most potent partnership is not defined by title but by the ability to embed business value into every business initiative driven by IT. In an ideal, healthily matrixed organization, such collaborations are fluid, shared across a spectrum of peers, bolstering the CIO’s role beyond a solitary partnership. And amidst this interplay of alliances, the CIO must champion proactive communication, seeking meaningful dialogue with the CEO, transcending the traditional confines of reports and emails, to truly align technology with the enterprise’s beating heart.
Secrets for New CIOs
For a new CIO stepping into the labyrinth of leadership, the secret to success isn’t encoded in bits and bytes but in the human connections that drive our digital world. Cultivating a rapport with the CEO requires more than scheduled meetings; it necessitates listening with intent and responding with empathy. Aligning your vision with that of the CEO, adapting it, and allowing their overarching strategy to guide your technological roadmap is pivotal.
As well, Russell says, “Relationships take time and effort, especially with the CEO. Listening and empathy are two of the most important skills to develop. I personally like to fit my vision within the CEO’s vision. I adjust and let them set the tone.” McMahon adds, ”You are there to deliver business outcomes, not the other way around. Find out what problems that need solving, and then work with them to solve them.”
The Mark of the Modern CIO
The transformation from a T-shaped skillset to an E-shaped one is the mark of a modern CIO. It’s about delivering value swiftly, economically, and with greater impact, transcending traditional tech boundaries. The true essence of the CIO role lies not in technology mastery alone but in business savvy.
Friedman adds, “There is no secret here. CIO is not a technology role, it’s a business role. Technology is the how, keep the conversation focused on the Why. Unless it’s day zero of a start-up, you’re inheriting people, processes, technology and, most importantly, culture. Map your IT terrain before you start making wholesale changes. Then, communicate the heck out of why things need to change.”
Stepping Into an Ongoing Narrative
Inheriting an organization’s culture, people, processes and technology is akin to stepping into an ongoing narrative. It’s critical to chart the IT landscape comprehensively before embarking on transformative initiatives and managing expectations. Communication is your beacon here, illuminating the “why” behind necessary changes.
Remember, you are the harbinger of business outcomes, not a mere technocrat. Identify the organization’s pain points and collaborate to remedy them. It’s this blend of business acumen and technological expertise that will define your tenure as a CIO.
Parting Words
In the modern enterprise, a CIO’s tech expertise is the forge that shapes their role, but it’s business acumen that tempers them for success. According to Gildersleeve, “Knowing the technology may have gotten a CIO to the role but business knowledge will make them successful.”
As CMOs and leaders in customer experience and digital business transformation size up CIO candidates, they must prioritize business savvy, seeking partners, not just technicians.
Similarly, CIOs should seek reciprocal attributes in their C-suite comrades while managing expectations. It’s in this symbiosis that CIOs can sculpt expectations with CEOs, ensuring they’re grounded and aligned with business strategy.
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