娇色导航

鈥淎s a first-time CIO, there are things you鈥檝e never done before, and conversations you鈥檝e never had before, at this level, in this role,鈥� recounts Sarah Cockrill, who is one year into the director of digital strategy and information technology position at Canterbury University, in Kent, England.

鈥淵ou almost don鈥檛 want to say to your boss, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know how to do this鈥�, because you鈥檝e just had an interview where you鈥檝e told them how amazing you are, and how you can do the job.鈥�

Cockrill鈥檚 story is a familiar tale for first-time CIOs burgeoning with experience and ideas, but are still learning the ropes in an unfamiliar role.

The changing 娇色导航role means new skills are required

Technology leaders today are expected to be business leaders first and IT leaders second, articulating what technology can do for the organization top-down and bottom-up.

And yet, despite past proclamations of IT being confined to a back-office order-taker, some suggest this is how it should have always been; William Synnott and William Gruber first coined the聽chief information officer聽term in their 1981book, Information Resource Management: Opportunities and Strategies for the 1980s, arguing at the time that IT was strategic, not simply a means to reduce costs, and that employing a C-level technology executive could offer a competitive advantage.

With IT arguably more influential and less of a commodity than at any point over the last 20 years, Sainsbury鈥檚 Group 娇色导航Phil Jordan believes incoming CIOs need to be business-savvy influencers, capable of leading teams and demystifying technology rather than the technical project managers of the past.

鈥淚 would put more emphasis in business acumen, commercial understanding, data analytics鈥�and understanding how the business is going to be changed by technology鈥�than I would on the skill set when I started, which was about supplier management, project management鈥�and technical delivery history,鈥� says Jordan.

Dominic Howson, 娇色导航at waste management firm Viridor and Next 娇色导航UK judge, sees today鈥檚 娇色导航as needing to be a 鈥榮ouped-up鈥� business analyst, understanding business processes, knowing how technology can impact different business functions, and having a degree of financial nous.

鈥淭en years ago, the 娇色导航was the back-office guy or girl who kept the lights on and worried about backups, availability and capacity,鈥� says Howson. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 the role of business leader [who is] front and centre of the company鈥檚 strategy.鈥�

Yet there鈥檚 an understanding, too, that the 娇色导航should be a people leader, first and foremost. Natalie Whittlesey, director at recruitment firm Investigo, says recruiters want to see strong communication and people skills.

鈥淭hey often spend as much time talking about personality traits as experience requirements,鈥� she says of clients, adding having the ability to influence, having a low-ego, being collaborative, and able to inspire people and take them on a journey.

鈥淕ood EQ and personal traits are incredibly important, but they鈥檙e also the most difficult to nurture as people often have traits that remain relatively static over time.聽So the ability to self-reflect, seek feedback and self-develop is also valuable,鈥� she adds.

Whittlesey also says that the COVID-19 pandemic, which led many leaders including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to say that digital transformation initiatives were accelerated from years to months, pushed CIOs to be more product and customer focused.

鈥淚 spoke with a CEO last week who lost 70% of his business revenue within weeks, as the vast majority of his field workforce were confined to [working from] home,鈥� says Whittlesey. 鈥淗e couldn鈥檛 rely on other regions to make up the numbers, as they were impacted too. This required quick thinking by his leadership team to limit losses.聽It also resulted in a rapid shift towards escalating digital revenues.鈥�

There鈥檚 no rule to 娇色导航experience

A 2021 Hays report found that most CIOs surveyed held 15 to 20 years of experience in a related field before becoming a CIO, and about a quarter reported having 10 to 15 years before making the same leap.

鈥淚 had 17 years of experience before I undertook my first 娇色导航role, in a $3.5bn revenue business, but it鈥檚 dependent on the individual and the organization,鈥� says Stantec group IT director Dave Roberts. 鈥淣ot all 娇色导航roles are equal, and it鈥檚 important to differentiate between what would have been called an IT or software development manager, or being called a 娇色导航or a CTO in smaller organizations.鈥�

Whittlesey believes recruiters and hiring managers are now more interested in experience over the last five years rather than the last 15 to 20, owing to more diverse career pathways and the continued pace of change in the technology market.

鈥淚f a client requests more than 10 years of senior experience, I tend to challenge them,鈥� she says.聽鈥淢any people鈥攑articularly women鈥攎ove into IT via a sideways step. They might get involved with a technology project or program, get spotted by the CIO, CTO, CDIO and get encouraged to apply for a technology role, for example.

鈥淭his might mean they had five to 10 years in HR, operations or marketing before moving across to IT, where they thrive and get promoted quickly.鈥�

Whittlesey admits that experience can give business leaders a sense of security, as proven CIOs will have the battle scars to handle any number of situations, but ultimately recommends leaving the issue of experience with the hiring manager.

How to prepare for a first-time 娇色导航role

Preparing for the 娇色导航role can take many forms, from volunteering for initiatives outside IT and developing through secondments, to taking on non-executive director (NED) positions.

Viridor鈥檚 Howson recommends getting outside your organization鈥攁nd outside your comfort zone鈥攖o build a strong breadth of understanding.

鈥淕o to customer-led vendor presentations,鈥� he says. 鈥淯nderstand how other businesses utilise technology. Work outside of IT, in the business on a secondment. While in IT, get experience in every part of the function: service, infrastructure, development, support, architecture.鈥�

Cockrill believes her time working as a business analyst was beneficial, as she got visibility of projects being delivered into HR, finance and other departments. Speaking of her own ascent into the 娇色导航position, she says she had two streams of a working plan.

鈥淥ne was making sure I took any opportunity in the workplace I could to broaden my skills,鈥� she says, adding she would often volunteer for opportunities with her director while looking externally.

鈥淭he other was I started a school governor, then I did chair of resources. That gave me some of the leadership experience that I wasn鈥檛 able to get at work. Working with the BCS, or doing speaking events鈥�all added to my knowledge and helped me create that rounded CV that I could say I鈥檓 ready. If you鈥檙e being interviewed for a CIO, and all you know is your technology鈥�and you can鈥檛 talk about it in that bigger picture, there鈥檚 a gap.鈥�

Whittlesey argues that clients are less interested in degrees or MBAs these days, even if Roberts says the latter can teach would-be leaders wider business principles and leadership skills. Instead, she says, hiring managers want to see evidence of credibility and commercial understanding; an ability to speak the language of the business, a willingness to change, evidence of personal growth, and proof of delivering technology programs across business.

Then there鈥檚 the small issue of visibility in order to get that elusive opportunity.

鈥淢ake sure you鈥檙e in people鈥檚 line of sight,鈥� says Howson. 鈥淭hink about your profile. How can you get more exposure to the decision makers. Find a way of being part of the bigger conversations. And think about your personal brand in all meetings and interactions.鈥�

Overcoming imposter syndrome and the first 90 days as CIO

Despite the seniority of the 娇色导航role, those who occupy it can still suffer from imposter syndrome and a lack of confidence. In particular, new CIOs may wrestle with that nagging question: Am I good enough?

鈥淢any people talk about imposter syndrome, but it鈥檚 only through experience that you gain the necessary skills to be an effective leader,鈥� says Stantec鈥檚 Roberts, a judge on .

鈥淚mposter syndrome can also be an issue when someone looks to break out of a particular industry and start a leadership role in a different type of organization,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the fear of the unknown that will sometimes hold people back. Embrace new challenges. They鈥檒l always provide a valuable lesson and the experience will help you improve and develop.鈥�

Whittlesey adds: 鈥淭ry to find reasons to rule yourself into an opportunity instead of ruling yourself out. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you don鈥檛 succeed. It鈥檚 better to be in with a chance than not to apply at all.鈥�

Once in role, new CIOs must think of how they approach those first 90 days. Howson, Whittlesey, Roberts and Cockrill recommend learning about the business, its objectives and the strengths and weaknesses of your team, as well as developing internal relationships and benchmarking your position to gauge future progress.

Howson says CIOs should discover what the business thinks of IT, align their department鈥檚 objectives to those of the business, and discover shadow IT and tech spend not accounted for in the budget. He also calls for CIOs to understand their contractual positions, and 鈥榢ick the tires鈥� on everything from compliance to cybersecurity, and find out where the quick wins are to gain early kudos.

The new 娇色导航should also build networks internally and externally to stave off loneliness, says Cockrill, who says you can鈥檛 have the same relationship with team members as you would with peers, and that CIOs are naturally segregated from other senior leaders in HR, estates and finance. 鈥淏e bold and don鈥檛 be afraid of failure,鈥� says Howson. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e in a position to make the jump, the chances are you know your stuff.鈥�