The Looming CIO Shortage - ' 2010 CIO Capabilities ' (
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2010 CIO Capabilities
What capabilities will the 2010 CIO need to perform these roles competently? In the past decade, researchers have identified several capabilities that a CIO needs to effectively fulfill his/her organization roles. A capability is defined as personal skills, knowledge, and abilities that enable leadership and effective role fulfillment.
All of our respondents had a set of skills, capabilities, and personal characteristics that they regarded as essential for a CIO. They used terms and phrases such as "edge," "energy," "execution," "passion," "ability to take criticism," "negotiating," "influencing," "selling," and "visioning skills."
The importance of business knowledge for the CIO was repeatedly emphasized. One of our financial services executives noted that if the CIO does not understand the ins and outs of how the stock exchanges work, and what drives margins in the initial public offering business, then that CIO will not be very credible with the top management team. But mere understanding is not enough—the capability that is important is to envision how a business process can be redesigned and improved using technology.
The CIO also needs a strong set of relationship management capabilities to manage the increasingly larger network of relationships that define today's IT environment—internal staff, contractors, outsourcing partners, internal business partners, an external network of peers, and in some instances, an external network of clients. For example, in healthcare, with a growing number of regional health information organizations, CIOs have responsibility for providing data and interoperability not only to members of their own organization, but also other hospitals and healthcare entities. Here, careful management of relationships with entities where there is no formal reporting structure becomes critical.
Finally, and most significantly, the phrase we heard most often was that the 2010 CIO is a leader in the true sense of the word—not simply a very competent manager of technology. This leader is able to inspire, motivate, have a compelling presence, be humble but at the same time confident in his/her capabilities and vision, and possess the vibrancy and energy that is an essential component of being able to drive change.
Our respondents view the CIO's demand-side capabilities as becoming more significant and distinctive in driving CIO success. However, as many respondents pointed out, the CIO must have sufficient technical depth and knowledge to be a credible leader for the supply side of the business. He/she must be able to identify and appoint appropriate deputies, such as a chief technology officer or project management office director, to oversee the tactical activities of the IT organization. As with CIO roles, we found no systematic differences in the capability needs across self-serve and enriched environments. Regardless of how human capital is managed in the firm, the CIO roles and capabilities do not vary.
The CIO of 2010 is expected to possess multifaceted capabilities. Of these, business acumen, relationship ability, and leadership are viewed as particularly significant drivers of the CIO's effectiveness. Many firms we studied have developed their own executive competency models—these three capabilities reflect the common themes across all firms.
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