I'm the UK CIO of a multinational company whose
headquarters has been in the US since the company was taken over
several years ago. I feel that my role has been steadily gutted of
substance since the 'merger' took place. Essentially I don't feel
trusted by my American boss. Although I don't disagree with the IT
strategy driven by the US, I do feel that I might as well not be
here. What should I do?
Understand what is expected of you
What you are feeling sounds like it is due to a combination of
the shifts that are taking place in the role of the CIO, and
cultural differences between nations - in this case, the UK and the
US.
As a business unit CIO within a multi-national corporation, your
role is becoming less and less about technology, per se. As
companies have implemented shared services models for IT, coupled
with outsourcing where appropriate, the technology that your
business unit uses is now designed, developed and managed
"somewhere else". Business unit CIOs may have some say in the
technology architecture and who provides it, but that is not really
the substance of their role.
Instead, your role is more about how your business creates
maximum value by investing in changes that exploit IT. This needs a
solid appreciation of the local environment in which your business
operates, including national culture, and of the genuine
opportunities for the company to innovate using IT. It means
providing leadership to your executive colleagues in choosing the
best combination of changes to invest in, in executing those
changes and then exploiting them to create most value. You also
need to provide leadership in keeping the costs of IT to your
business's Profit and Loss (P&L) within whatever boundaries you
and your executive colleagues have agreed. All this may sometimes
put your business unit at odds with "corporate IT".
There is a natural, and usually healthy, tension between the
strategies of business units and that of the corporation of a
whole. As a business unit CIO, your role is to be immersed in the
strategy and culture of the UK business, providing executive-level
leadership in the shaping and exploitation of business changes that
involve IT, and in proactively managing the resulting costs to
P&L. And if you have succeeded in that, then delete "that
involve IT" from the previous sentence. Then you will have truly
reached the fruition of the CIO role.
Chris Potts is a corporate IT strategist and CIO
futurist
Change your job
There is only one realistic answer - find another job. If your
role has been steadily eroded for some years, however unfair and
inaccurate, your US bosses don't rate your opinions or input at
all. Supporting their IT strategy doesn't count for anything it can
simply taste of sycophancy. You are not the chief of anything, more
like the operations manager carrying out directed functions as
efficiently and effectively as you are able. There is nothing at
all wrong with being an operations manager, except that you are
called chief information officer.
It is a very unhappy situation to be sidelined like this:
Reassert your pride and confidence, rework your CV as well as you
can and move on - they don't want you.
Robin Laidlaw, president, CW500 Club
Emphasise your local strengths
You seem to have two challenges here. The first is the legacy of
the 'merger' (or does it feel more like a takeover, with changes to
strategy and systems imposed on you rather than agreed with you?).
Secondly, you're suffering from what feels like an imbalance in the
US-UK corporate relationship - not uncommon in the early years of a
major merger, according to Corporate IT Forum subscribers.
There's no getting away from it, different countries can have
very different corporate cultures and communications approaches
which can only be blended over time - evolving through individuals
rather than projects.
However, you appear to approve of the US-driven IT strategy so
now you must bring your UK/EU-developed skills and knowledge to the
combined company table. Is your strength in local market knowledge
and negotiation? Does your experience lie in offshore relationship
building and management or an in-depth understanding of regional
service providers and regulatory parameters?
You have a prime opportunity to guide your American bosses
through the transition from an inward-looking, US focus to a new,
outward-looking global perspective. Have confidence in your skills
and exercise your value - that's what you're there for!
Ollie Ross, head of research, The Corporate IT
Forum
Focus on UK business change
I find this a particularly interesting question, given my
experiences as a national and European CIO in three different
multinationals. These have been supplemented by my research into
global IT groups. One key conclusion is that CIOs need to recognise
how power is distributed in organisations.
Your situation is not helped by the fact you were not selected
by your American boss, although it is positive that you are still
there after several years. The questions you raise relate to what
your role should be and how you can build mutual trust with your
boss.
In a multinational group, you need to analyse the style and
culture of the organisation and act accordingly. Depending on the
business structure, you may find corporate IT focuses on the
definition of IT policies and standards. For example, there may be
a drive to negotiate central hardware agreements and to put in a
common enterprise resource planning system.
If this is the case, you as the UK CIO will have the key job of
aligning business and IT strategy in the UK. Of course you will
need to follow and help shape the corporate IT policies but your
major task will be to enable business change in the UK. Doing this
effectively may offer broader opportunities, such as taking on a
European CIO role or becoming a COO.
A much more constrained national role is likely in a single
product company where both business and IT strategy is driven by
the US. In these circumstances, it may be advisable to seek a
global role looking after policy, applications or
infrastructure.
All this assumes you want to stay and influence the
organisation's strategy rather than just accept an operational
role. It also depends on your ability to create a new sense of
trust with your boss. I would advise you to talk to others in
similar situations while ensuring that you carefully analyse your
own position.
Sharm Manwani, Henley Business School
Develop a new role
Merger transactions often lead to these types of struggles,
resulting in the centralisation of IT strategy ownership. However,
as the UK CIO, you have options worth exploring. If you have
already considered leaving your company yet have decided to stay
on, evaluate these options:
- Raise your commercial profile: Develop strong relationships
with the UK business leaders. Aim to understand their strategy and
develop options for improving the alignment of IT strategies,
preferably through tangible initiatives focused on specific
business goals. Keep the global CIO informed of your progress and
successes, and you may find he begins to delegate more demand-side
management responsibilities to you.
- Find a new role in the business: You probably already have a
deep understanding of your company's business operations. However,
as a result of investing in raising your commercial profile, you
may discover or even create an opportunity to move your career into
a new domain in the business, and possibly an opportunity for one
of your existing team to run IT. It would be wise to continue to
keep the global CIO informed of your intentions in this regard, as
you will need their support for your continued success.
- Create a new role in global IT: As a UK-based CIO, you may well
already have international management experience. Work with the
global CIO to develop a position involving less responsibility for
the development of the global IT strategy but more for its
projection and implementation. The global CIO may well value the
opportunity to offload that responsibility to someone with a global
outlook that his US-based staff may lack.
Hopefully, some of these options suit your circumstance -
broadening your skills and knowledge will most likely open up some
new options as well.
Giles Watkins, a transactions partner in technology &
security risk services at Ernst & Young
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