Effective CIOs need to come alongside each business line to explore the best path forward. Thinking through six questions will better prepare the CIO for the conversations and work ahead.
What would you say, on a day you have longed to see, with many eyes on you and many hopes affixed to you? What would you say with a storm on your backside and multiple challenges before you?
Last week, President Joe Biden, in his inaugural speech, had just that moment. He said some things that capture the very situation the CIO finds their self to be:
“Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge...We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility. Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal. Much to build. And much to gain.”
You stand at a crossroads. Your value is more greatly perceived than before; the need of your leadership and your team’s skills is more demanded upon. We speak often of the CIO needing to work within the business strategy. I heard that again this week in speaking with the CIO of a successful travel company. His CEO said to him, “I know that we are not a travel company. We are a technology company that offers travel services.” The message is getting through. But what do you do?
Speed, urgency, repair, restoration, healing, building. It’s one thing to know what needs to be accomplished. It’s another to know what to do next.
Consider your relationship with a few of your departments.
In early 2020, HR had to figure out how to make digital workspace viable in short order. Performance management is more difficult. Employee feedback must be more continuous; workplace structure has shifted; work-life balance is no longer a matter of time in different locations. Workspace management tools are now required, especially as physical space is reduced and “share-of-space” becomes greater. HR recognizes that data is powerful, but frankly, they don’t know how to secure it or use it. HR has a different tech ecosystem, and they need help thriving in it.
The financial departments expect to see cloud and cloud hybrid solutions to grow by 40-50% each. The need to capture and analyze data in real time is critical; the ability to sift through granular data will produce more accurate and effective business transactions. Security, of course, is a premium.
Finally, think about your marketing team. User-centric marketing seeks to understand their audience and their journey. The audience is trying to accomplish something. They have questions to answer, tasks to complete, influences to filter, pain to eliminate and emotions to process. The customer is on a journey, and their decision to transact entails multiple steps and touchpoints. User-centric marketing allows your company to tailor the message along the way. A number of resources exist to do so: research, surveys, analysis, and interviews: All of which require data and effective use of technology (source: Mirror Marketing, Joe Woodruff).
The CIO interfaces with each of these mission points and executive leaders. (S)he becomes both coach and mentor, drawing out the need, speaking into the options and best solutions. To know what is the best way to become even more involved in the business lines, think through the following questions.
- For each business line, what is the outcome you need to enhance your contribution and ensure business alignment with IT?
- What are the obstacles that provide the greatest friction?
- What are the current opportunities that provide the greatest leverage?
- Which one obstacle or opportunity, if eliminated or enacted, would provide the most benefit now?
- What are the options to accomplish this?
- Which one will you own and who needs to own it with you?
A recent CIO said to me, “We are not in a new normal. We are in a new different.” Yes, we are. And the difference begins with the CIO. The most effective use of your time is in exploration with your C-Suite peers of what and how to make 2021 a year of transition and transformation. Come in as the coach, asking questions, drawing out best thinking, identifying critical needs; continue on as the mentor, pouring in the solutions and processes your peers rely upon your team for. You already know that technology is not an all-in-one solution; business lines have different needs. Discover first, then dive in.
