Leadership - CIOInsight
Home arrow Leadership arrow 10 Ways to Get Closer to the CEO

Leadership Slideshow:
10 Ways to Get Closer to the CEO

By Ericka Chickowski on 2009-03-17


Support from the CEO and other C-suite executives can be critical to the outcome of major IT initiatives, and working closely with these alleged peers in senior management is a measure of CIO success. But many CIOs, particularly those who came up through the tech ranks, find it daunting to develop a good relationship with the CEO. Relationship-building is an organic and there certainly is no magic formula to it, but there are a few ways to help the process along.

LATEST STORIES

BLOGS
 
  • of

1.Make Yourself Bilingual



Effective CIOs should be tech savvy enough to speak geek. But fluency in business language is critical, too. Speaking to the CEO in his or her language builds trust.

2. Give Them Dashboards



Don’t drown your CEO in log reports and reams of technical data. Distill data into concise formats that give an easy snapshot of the state of matters, including visuals if possible.

3. Cut Costs Without Being Asked



Being proactive in identifying efficiencies will make you popular in the corner office.

4. Expand Your Metrics



ROI and cost are critical, but they aren’t the only useful measurements. When the C-suite initiates projects, ask upfront how they would determine success of the project. Measure accordingly, and report back frequently.

5. Tell It to Them Straight



Your CEO will appreciate it when you’re honest about the cost of business decisions as they relate to IT investments.

6. Listen. Really.



Pay attention to what the CEO and the line-of-business executives say they really need in order to make technology investments line up with business goals.

7. Make Yourself Visible



It is more important now than ever to communicate and interact with line-of-business leaders, and to find out how their strategies are changing with the latest developments.

8. Show, Don’t Tell



Show them you’re a strategic asset to the team by establishing a big-picture plan that enables the business. Don’t be afraid of a little self promotion by marketing those plans to the rest of the C-suite.

9. Ask for Feedback



Ask how you can help your CEO achieve her goals and for feedback on how you’re doing so far. Then act on the information.

10. Establish a Culture of Support



Interactions between IT employees and line-of-business workers make their way up the gossip chain. Make sure employees are trained and culture is established to support business.

  • More slideshows

FEATURED SPONSORED VIDEOS

FEATURED SPONSORED ARTICLES

Erasable E-Paper Saves Trees, Cuts Costs

Why Smart Companies Should Adopt the Lessons of Gaming

Interest in Mobile WiFi Hotspots Fuels New Solutions

A Closer Look at Public Cloud Security

View More Articles

  Brought to You By
Click Here



 

Advertisement

Sponsored Links
  • Get up and running in as quickly as 30 days with BI. Learn how today.

  • FREE Securing Smartphones & Tablets for Dummies Book from Sophos
  • 77% of the Fortune 500 Manage Content Securely with Box.
  • Leverage your virtual computing environment with Dell.
  • Build an IT Infrastructure That Delivers the Future
  • 5 New Technologies That Will Change Enterprise ITAdvertisement
  • eWEEK Quick LInks