It's no good working your socks off if you're moving in
the wrong direction. Julia Vowler talks to a leading
headhunter about how to build influence and boost your
career
Every chief information officer knows what contribution they
make to their organisation, but what do their chief executives want
of them - especially when they are looking for a new CIO?
"I would love to say CEOs are looking for CIOs with bags of
imagination and who are great leaders - but it would be a terrible
lie," says CIO head-hunter Cathy Holley, a partner at executive
search firm, Boyden.
"What they ask for depends on what they have had, and whether
they think that worked. If it did then they tend to ask for more of
the same, so I try to open their minds as to what they could have
in a new CIO."
If, however, the CEO thinks the outgoing CIO did not work out,
it is usually because the CEO thought that the CIO "asked for more
budget, delivered nothing, was isolated and had poor communication
skills," says Holley.
However, "A new CIO can change the perception of IT."
Typically, Holley's brief starts with a tick list from the CEO.
"They will put down things like international skills or outsourcing
experience. They may ask for sector-specific experience, or
something particular like supply chain management experience.
"Very often they ask for technology-specific experience, such as
AS400s, and I try and stop them there because at this level it
cannot possibly be relevant for the role and so will limit their
choice of candidates.
"However, most CEOs say to me 'Find me someone who can bring
down costs and deliver effectively.' They want someone who can
'make things happen'."
This kind of brief is very generic - "just about any CIO at that
level could do it".
But when dealing with the more enlightened CEOs, things get more
interesting. "For example, I start to hear things like wanting a
CIO with experience in organisational development, who can build
teams to support new development, and who can show leadership in
tough times."
The last criterion is challenging, because "outstanding
motivational skills are very hard to find in the IT function as a
whole," according to Holley.
CEOs also request strategic thinking, "but what they want is the
ability for the CIO to tune in to the business, and understand what
technology will be needed for that".
One very popular request is for a CIO with commercial acuity,
"by which they usually mean, can they screw suppliers and keep to
budget?"
Increasingly, Holley is finding that CEOs, especially in retail,
banking and other fast-moving consumer goods companies, want CIOs
who are "customer-centric, people who understand how technology can
influence the behaviour of clients and customers. CEOs have finally
twigged to the fact that CIOs are one of the few executives who can
deliver on this."
With corporate-wide business transformation programmes
increasingly the norm, experience in change management is also
highly desirable. "CEOs want CIOs with experience of dynamic
companies, and if they have been head of change management that is
seen as a huge advantage," says Holley.
However, business transformation change management should not be
confused with IT programme management.
"I am not interested in whether a candidate has implemented SAP
in 80 countries in three days - that is a task for project
managers," says Holley.
"I want to know what business value they extracted from
implementing SAP. To know that, you have to have been in the job
for at least two years, in order to have lived with the outcomes of
what you have delivered."
Overall, experience should be more valued than any formal
qualifications. "If a CEO stipulates any academic qualifications,
such as an MBA, I stop them, as it will simply limit the pool of
candidates in an artificial way."
Worryingly, however, Holley says that CEOs all too often limit
the pool they are willing to fish from in other ways. "Although
CEOs want CIOs with drive, passion and energy, they confuse that
with youth, and see the ideal age for a CIO as 45."
But perhaps the most worrying brief she recalls is where the CEO
asked for a CIO who would "focus on cost reduction, containment of
demand and damage limitation, who thrived on chaos and was robust
and resilient".
However, for CEOs that can come up with a more enticing brief,
they can attract a top CIO. One who shows some distinguishing
characteristics. Such as:
● They have a very strong personal brand. "They are good at what
they do, and they know it. They are very visible in the
organisation, and outside it, meeting shareholders and City
analysts. They are highly presentable and are seen to be doing a
very good job for the company."
● They have power and presence. "They possess gravitas and
credibility, and have strong interpersonal skills. If I do not
shortlist someone for a particular CIO role, it is more often than
not because they lack that power and presence."
● They are hugely innovative. "For example, they know how to
structure their team to get the best for the business, such as
introducing remuneration based on the perception of IT by the
business."
● They are strategic influencers. "I ask candidates to give me
an example of when they have had to use their influence at senior
level to really get something through, and by that I do not mean
presenting a business case to the finance director," says
Holley.
"What I mean is can they tune in to different people on the
board, such as presenting well thought through numbers to the
financial director, or coming across as more culturally and
people-oriented to the human resources director, and appreciating
that the CEO will respond to arguments and solutions to please
shareholders and the City.
"This strategic influencing skill is one of the biggest
weaknesses in the IT community, and those who do it well shine in
their roles."
● They have expanded the CIO role. "They may have started in the
corporate technology role, but they have expanded it," says
Holley.
"They hunt around the organisation, and put their arms around
something that is not being done, or not being done well, such as
supply chain management. Crucially, they can also use technology to
open up new channels and markets for the business."
This last characteristic can be vital for CIOs who intend to go
to the very top of the corporate ladder, and become CEOs
themselves.
One way to expand upon the basic CIO role is to leverage
existing skills which may be underexploited. "CIOs, for example,
probably know more about sourcing than anyone on the board, being
expert in negotiation and contracts," says Holley.
"They can also expand into business strategy as a whole, as well
as facilities management and areas typical of concern to a chief
operating officer."
Another key way to leverage the role of the CIO, and gain
invaluable board experience, is by being a non-executive director.
Choose prudently, however, says Holley.
"The companies most interested in having a CIO as a
non-executive are small technology companies and charities. Being a
non-executive can be extremely fulfilling, but you must do your due
diligence as they can go bust, and they can also be extremely needy
of your time, so you do need to analyse just how much time they
will take up."
But it is the issue of personal brand that CIOs really need to
make a priority, and that can mean abandoning a familiar constraint
within the IT profession. "Building a personal brand is really
important, but IT people are not good at blowing their own
trumpets. They need to improve on this."
Every CIO must know what the board, their peers and their own
teams think of their strengths, weaknesses and potential. "Where
are there differences in perception among these groups and why? How
would you like to be perceived, and how can you alter others'
perceptions of you?"
CIOs need to answer rigorously the following crunch questions,
says Holley. "Are you seen as a leader or a follower, strategic or
tactical, business-centric or technology-led, commercially astute
or naïve, politically aware or ignorant, head of a value-adding
function or a cost centre, and is it seen as improving or
deteriorating?
"Above all, are you seen by the board as 'one of us' or 'one of
them' - are you integrated with the business, or isolated from
it?"
The issue of being "one of us" is subtle, but crucial, because
it is where the heart of corporate power lies. "There is always an
inner sanctum on almost every board," says Holley.
"Typically it will be the CEO, the financial director, and at
least one of the non-executive directors. Usually, the CIO is not
part of it.
"Often a CIO does not even know there is an inner sanctum, and
does not realise that by the time the board meeting takes place,
the decisions have all been taken already, and the board meeting is
just to rubber stamp them.
"But if one of its members comes along to 'bounce a few ideas
off you before the board meeting', then you know you have made it
to the inner sanctum."
Value-added skills
CEOs look for CIOs with a range of generic, specific and
business leadership skills.
- Specific skills from international experience, sector
experience and technology experience
- Cost reduction
- Effective IT delivery
- Organisational development and team building skills
- Leadership and motivational skills
- Commercial acuity
- Strategic thinking for business alignment
- Customer-centric thinking to exploit technology to open new
markets and influence customer behaviour
- Business transformation change management experience.