Whats the core competency of these highly effective CIOs?
One of the CIOs we interviewed said he viewed his job as consultative sales because he has to sell a concept internally. Ultimately what the CIO does is make the connection between what the technology does and what the business is trying to do. The first part of that is really understanding what a business is trying to do and then playing it back to the rest of the executive team, in their own words, what the organization’s goals and strategies are all about. Then, using the credibility they’ve gained from showing they understand what the organization is trying to achieve, they can point to technology to make that happen. Is there a consistent set of skills for this new role? No, and that’s partly a reflection of the fact that the technology changes so rapidly. Every five years you’re looking at a new technology environment. The entry point can be anywhere along the continuum. But one of the really interesting things we’re seeing is that people outside of IT are now beginning to think
