Question: What does a CIO have to
do to establish a leadership-development program for the IT organization?
Our advice: CIOs today, as throughout their
history, face both new and constant challenges to their success. Working in
today's enterprise, with its constantly changing demands, organizational
structures, and even outsourcing, requires leadership capabilities throughout
the IT organization. Setting an IT strategy, including alignment with the
business, requires the interpersonal skills of effective leaders. Achieving
extraordinary performance and delivering results are the responsibility of the
CIO, but aren't done by the CIO alone. And when the CIO thinks about what kind
of legacy should be left behind, it won't be the technical architecture or
applications portfolio, but the IT organization itself that others will point
to.
The significant objectives, therefore, of a CIO today are to create effective
teamwork within the IT organization as well as with their clients, to improve
the project- and program-management capabilities, including risk management, to
transform the IT organization to support the new business models of the
enterprise, and, last but not least, to achieve the much-sought-after alignment
with the business. The common denominator of these objectives is effective
leadership throughout the IT organization, but if the only leader is the CIO,
the organization is in trouble.
Role Of The CIO
The role of the CIO in a leadership-development program is simple to identify,
but takes a commitment by him or her to succeed. The CIO needs to:
Champion and sponsor the program;
Integrate it into the IT strategy;
Hold his or her direct reports accountable for its success;
Appoint and proactively support an IT leadership program director;
Provide the role model of leadership; and
Manage the expectations of the IT organization and the business executives.
The target audiences for a leadership development program are the CIO's direct
reports, IT middle management, and the early career and high-potential people
relatively new to the organization. Of course, the scope of such a program will
vary according to the size of the IT organization, as will the considerations
for use of complementary programs both internal and external to the company.
Leadership-Development Programs
A leadership-development program has many similarities to
project-management-training programs. Both typically have multiple sessions
over an extended period of time. Mentors are essential to guide the
participants through some learning points. As the participants go through the
program, they encounter progressive degrees of complexity. To apply the lessons
learned takes much practice, and many of the metrics of success are relatively
"soft" but are results oriented.
The scope of the leadership-development curriculum varies according to which
audience is targeted. The range of attitudes will go from "I'm already an
established leader" (often the CIO's direct reports) to "What a great program.
When do I start?" (the early career types). These run the gamut of experience,
mind-sets, and even maturity. Internal politics also will need to be addressed.
Some form of job rotations will be helpful, with the cycles varying according
to which group is involved.
The metrics of success the CIO should use include:
Positive changes in behavior and attitude;
Increased level of confidence of the participant;
Bonding of the various groups; and
Positive feedback from clients and participants.
In many ways, and with effective communication, the CIO will know the
difference. It will be obvious as long as he or she really understands from the
beginning what his or her objectives are for the program itself.
Please keep in mind a quote I've modified from a previous employer:
"You don't develop the organization. You develop the people. The people develop
the organization. It's done successfully no other way!"
--Bart Bolton
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