A new report by professional services firm Deloitte asked leading CIO and IT leaders about the personal and external factors that contributed to their career success. And while all the leaders interviewed were women, their advice should resonate with anyone with ambitions for the CIO chair. Freya Purnell reports.
Think you need to be a technical whiz to be CIO? Think again. According to those in the hot seat, an ability to understand the whole business and the issues it is facing is more valuable than just technology expertise for those seeking to become a successful CIO.
In 2013, Deloitte undertook in-depth interviews with leading female CIOs and IT leaders, and their insights were compiled in the Women in ICT – Perspectives and perceptions from some of Australia’s most successful female technology leaders report.
Kaylene O’Brien, senior technology partner, Deloitte, says employers thinking about the need to build a diverse workforce should heed the issues raised by these successful women.
“Quite often the same issues and obstacles that women face, why women are attracted to IT, and how they progress their careers, also apply in a similar way to men. In the 21st century, men are also looking for the workplace flexibility that women are expecting,” O’Brien says.
The anatomy of a CIO: attributes and skills
The CIOs interviewed pointed to a number of personal qualities and beliefs that have been instrumental to their success, including confidence and self-belief, courage, flexibility and resilience, tenacity and relationship building.
They also outlined the diverse skill set needed for today’s CIO. Top of the list was broad business knowledge. With technology now a crucial tool for improving business performance and efficiency, a holistic understanding of the business is essential.
“Great CIOs understand the technology trends, they understand what’s new, and they can interpret the organisation’s business strategy and business model, and look at ways to best exploit those trends, influence strategy and potentially change the business model,” O’Brien says.
While an understanding of technology is of course a must-have for a CIO, several of the interviewees felt deep technical knowledge is not required.
Jane Treadwell, who is now CEO of DesignGov, an experimental initiative to improve the Australian Public Service, says when she was CIO of Centrelink, her IT skills were not always at the same level of the staff she managed, so she enlisted the help of mentors to advise her on various disciplines.
“The challenges around CIO-dom are not in the technology, but in the seven S’s surrounding it: strategy, style, systems, structures, skills, staff and shared values,” says Treadwell.
“People who do really well in their IT career are often entrepreneurial, they have great communication skills and they are very people focused. They don’t necessarily fit the traditional image of an IT person,” says O’Brien.
Having strong communication skills, to be a conduit for fostering communication between IT and the business, is another key attribute. This works two ways – both to translate IT jargon for the benefit of the business, and to effectively convey IT’s contribution to the business.
An empowering leadership style helps leaders to build trust and enrol their teams in their vision, as well as develop and retain talented people.
“Be consultative but firm on what you want and fair on the approach to get there,” says Queensland Urban Utilities CIO Nina Meyers.
Finally, CIOs must have the ability to think and plan strategically, and execute on a long-term vision in collaboration with and support of the CEO.
VicSuper CIO and executive manager of member and employer services, Clare Tam, says, “You need to understand your industry and envisage what it will look like in the future to ensure your technology doesn’t lag.”
One trap CIOs must be careful to avoid is getting bogged down in simply providing IT operational support, and allowing other C-suite members, such as the COO, the Chief Marketing Officer, and increasingly, the Chief Digital Officer, to take over the technology agenda.
“The key is remembering that that is where your biggest value-add is. The core part of your job is obviously keeping the lights on and doing that cost-effectively, but the strategic part of your job is influencing the organisation and its strategy,” says O’Brien.
“Allocate your time and do your own prioritisation to make sure that your own strategic role is covered, that you have support within your organisation and that all your interactions are credible and value-adding.”
Career defining moments
They’re the make or break moments, the times when you step up or it all falls in a heap, the roles that catapult you to the next level. Every career has them, and the CIOs interviewed identified some of the career-defining people, decisions and opportunities that helped them to get to their current positions.
Some of the commonalities were:
• Working for great bosses.
“Capable people can do amazing things if their bosses let them have a go and give them safety lines to come back,” says Treadwell.
• Carefully selecting mentors.
More than half the interviewees had mentors during their careers, and they weren’t necessarily always female.
“The main focus to ensure people can progress their careers in IT is making sure that they have really strong mentors. It has to be more than someone you just connect with – ideally it is the most powerful person in your organisation,” says O’Brien.
• Building peer networks.
The report says peer networks are crucial at any stage of a successful career, and ideally include peers inside and outside the organisation, to provide knowledge, feedback and support, and also open doors to new opportunities.
“CIO networks are brilliant for gaining insights and understanding, and also affirming some of my gut instincts,” Treadwell says.
• Following a passion.
A number of interviewees began their careers in different fields such as marketing or medicine, but were attracted to ICT by an interest in technology and how it relates to business strategy. While Clare Tam undertook an accounting degree and stayed on this path to a COO role, she never lost her interest in technology.
“My passion for technology-empowered business strategy extends beyond financial measures and encompasses using technology to develop an inclusive environment that encourages personal and professional growth,” says Tam. “Bringing people along on this journey is not only critical to business success, it is my greatest privilege.”
Advice for aspiring CIOs
1. Embrace change and seize opportunities.
To eventually find yourself in the top job, you have to step outside your comfort zone and skill set to seek new responsibilities and accept a variety of opportunities – even if some of these efforts end in failure. Meyers advises young ICT professionals to keep their horizons broad and gain experience across the business as well as in four key areas of IT: strategy, architecture, projects and technology.
2. Market yourself to build credibility.
The IT leaders interviewed believe it’s important to regularly report back to management on successes and measureable results such as return on investment.
3. Be open and flexible.
“Aspiring professionals who can take unexpected opportunities or obstacles in their stride will develop resilience and self-confidence – two of the five common CIO virtues and values,” the report says.
4. Ask for support.
Whether it is through formal mentoring, or input from peer networks, colleagues, or role models, networking and seeking advice can be crucial to carving out a brilliant career in IT.
To read the full report, visit http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Australia/Local{db8ca4bbfe57dc8f9b6df9233a3a6c04f4968125edf9bb330d4f787c3a87cd09}20Assets/Documents/National{db8ca4bbfe57dc8f9b6df9233a3a6c04f4968125edf9bb330d4f787c3a87cd09}20Programs/CIO/Deloitte_Women_in_ICT_2013.pdf
