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THREE ACTIONS
FOR THE NEW CIO
What should the priority be for a new CIO? Daniel Sanchez Reina,
Senior Director Analyst, Gartner, says CIOs must focus on three
actions in the first 100 days.
A
new CIO must use the first 100
days to build rapport with the
C-suite and demonstrate leadership
and understanding for the organisation’s
business goals.
What should be the first priority as a new
CIO? Getting to know the IT infrastructure
and systems? Making yourself familiar with
goals and expectations? All important tasks,
but not the place to start. The very first
thing a new CIO needs to do is strategically
build rapport with the CEO and other C-level
members to be perceived as a trusted ally of
the executive team.
CIOs still are at a disadvantage on the
executive team because their colleagues
often don’t know exactly how IT contributes
to the overall strategy. This can lead to an
isolated position that makes it harder to
move projects forward.
“CIOs will not accelerate their rapport with
the C-level just by meeting their default
expectations for the CIO role,” said Daniel
Sanchez Reina, Senior Director Analyst,
Gartner. “Success requires that you do things
that nobody expects from you – and that
you do them well.”
To successfully integrate themselves into the
leadership team within the first 100 days,
CIOs must focus on three actions.
Action No. 1: Speak finance
Traditionally, the C-level member closest
to the CEO is the CFO and the two of them
tend to set the financial agenda on their
own. Usually, the only thing they expect
financially from the IT department is
to reduce costs – a dangerous pitfall for
new CIOs and an amazing opportunity
to demonstrate that they don’t only
understand IT but also business.
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CIOs shouldn’t limit themselves to the IT
perspective but should also think about how
to become a top-line growth contributor
in a broad way. Spend time with the CFO,
understand the burning financial topics of
the company and open a discussion about
how the IT organisation can contribute to
overall organisation growth. Make sure that
any IT initiative is directly linked to revenue-
generation goals.
Daniel Sanchez Reina, Senior Director
Analyst, Gartner
for the CIO to draft this document in
tandem with each member of the C-suite
based on the overall company strategy
– avoid IT-specific conversations when
discussing it with C-level colleagues.
Action No. 2: Be a pioneer
According to the 2018 CEO Survey, 78%
of CEOs consider their companies either
pioneers or fast followers when it comes to
business innovation. And they will expect a
new CIO to take on a leadership role when it
comes to pioneering business transformation.
Demonstrate pioneer spirit with a
breakthrough document. This is a strategic,
enterprise wide, high-level operational
inventory on what actions and initiatives
can be taken to become a pioneering or
fast-follower organisation. It is important
“
SUCCESS
REQUIRES THAT
YOU DO THINGS
THAT NOBODY
EXPECTS FROM
YOU – AND THAT
YOU DO THEM
WELL.
Action No. 3: Shape the
workplace culture
Culture is the set of mindsets and practices
of an organisation. A growing number of
CEOs want to change the organisation’s
culture to become more competitive in the
new world of digital business. However,
culture change is not just about introducing
new tools and processes – it’s about
changing workforce behaviour in a way that
is neither overwhelming nor frightening.
As a new CIO won’t know a lot about a
company yet, tackling the entire culture
is impossible. However, it’s important to
work with your peers to identify one or two
behaviours that the organisation needs to
change to successfully fulfil the actions of
the breakthrough document.
“The best motto is probably ‘Think big and
start small.’ Pick a less complex initiative
for behavioural change, and don’t be too
ambitious in the beginning or you might be
seen as reckless. Try to use culture hacks to
accelerate the adoption of new behaviours
across the organisation,” said Sanchez Reina.
“When you manage to achieve even a small
cultural trait in your first 100 days, even if it
is only in the IT organisation, your standing
with the CEO and the rest of the executive
team will improve drastically.” n
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