The modern CIO role is almost overwhelming – here’s how to survive and thrive

Spread the burden

Pearson says one of the key success factors is that CIOs need to act as ambassadors, rather than the centre of technological knowledge. He gives the example of managing AI roll-out. Pearson has created an AI Council to ensure that emerging technology is embraced safely and effectively. Crucially, it’s a cross-organisation leadership group.

“I was never going to stand the AI Council up on my own inside of Ricoh,” he says. “One, it’s too big; two, it would ostracise half the business. So, dual management of topics is crucial. We’re a team here on AI – it’s not my solution set, it’s not an application. You spread a bit of the burden and get co-sponsorship across the board.”

“The role shifts in the modern age from being the person who’s fixing stuff and making it work better to an enabler of new and exciting business opportunities”

Jem Walters, Vanquis

Pearson suggests this joined-up management approach will become the norm. “We’re going to see more co-sponsors, rather than people just thinking, ‘Well, it’s the IT guy’s job to deliver this, or it’s the sales leader’s job’,” he says. “It’s going to be more a case of, ‘It’s both our jobs, and you need to lean in as much as I do on the tech side.’ And I’m seeing that shift already.”

As an example, he says HR professionals at Ricoh invested in AI tools to scan labour markets and find talent.

“Now, that technology stack is fairly bespoke to HR to a certain degree. So, they have to lean in a lot more to technology than they used to with an old-fashioned HR system, where we’d run it,” he says.

“It’s really about professionals saying, ‘How do we want the solution to work for our business?’, which is going to share the burden a little bit more. One of my ideas to manage the overwhelming breadth of change is to partner a lot more closely with the board members on most of this innovation.”

Focus on the finishing line

Dan Keyworth, executive director of performance technology and systems at McLaren Racing, says it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of options out there. Successful CIOs scan the horizon and help the business find solutions to its problems from multiple directions.

“As a digital leader, it’s a good idea to look inwards as much as outwards,” he says. “You must think about the actual business objectives the organisation is truly trying to achieve. And comparison, in my view, is the biggest element to focus on.”

Keyworth gives an example of this process in action. “So, if you compare your sector to another industry and are doing something that looks cutting edge, but it’s not relevant to your business, then that shouldn’t be a focus,” he says. “Your process should be very much about focusing on yourself. Think about what your win looks like.”

To that end, Keyworth encourages other CIOs to ensure their digital strategies and the activity supporting those plans are commensurate with broader business objectives. “Suddenly, you feel like you’re in more control of your destiny than perhaps being influenced too much by external factors,” he says.

Keyworth says a focus on business objectives is crucial in his sport. Rather than being viewed as a cost centre, IT is now seen as a critical success factor in helping his team gain a competitive advantage. His ability to communicate the benefits to business peers can help make the difference to on-track performance.

“We say that for every pound you spend on the car, there’s a pound on tools as well,” he says.

Take a pragmatic stance

Clare Hickie, CTO for EMEA at software provider Workday, says there are many conflicting stresses in the world of technology, especially for digital leaders. However, most senior tech managers have grown used to the complexity of their roles.

“Technology leaders have a level of pragmatism,” she says. “And so what’s important for them is that, once they understand and can look at the business and manage it from a prioritisation perspective, then they can be successful.”

“Before, everyone saw the CIO as an implementer, but now you’re the maker of IT”

Claire Hickie, Workday

While AI brings new demands, Hickie says it’s important to recognise that the CIO role has been evolving for years. “The position has gone from being the owner of cost centres to being the orchestrator of AI and supporting the strategic goals of the operation,” she says.

“It’s not even just about managing from a strategy perspective, although that’s our role too. Before, everyone saw the CIO as an implementer, but now you’re the maker of IT.”

Hickie says good digital leaders offer specialist advice to their line-of-business colleagues. Rather than allowing emerging technology to become an intractable challenge, CIOs work with their peers across the organisation to ensure that people can exploit digital and data effectively.

“We perform and take away the distractors every single day,” she says. “A huge aspect of the role at the moment is supporting organisations as they move more towards the world of AI, because businesses are looking to the CIO for that level of guidance. So, if I think about how I operate and our teams operate, we’re very good at saying what needs to happen as opposed to letting the noise sit around us.”

Create a great environment

Jem Walters, CTO at banking group Vanquis, is another executive who recognises the inherent complexity of modern digital leadership.

“A lot is coming at us at the moment,” he says, before outlining his coping strategy. “The role of a CIO is to create the best environment possible so that great people can do great work.

“That’s my philosophy, really. The role shifts in the modern age from being the person who’s fixing stuff and making it work better to an enabler of new and exciting business opportunities.”

Walters gives the example of cross-organisation interoperability. Vanquis uses MuleSoft’s integration platform to help ensure systems are joined up. “Now our ability to integrate with other businesses, data sources, and products and services is infinitely better, quicker, and faster than in the past,” he says.

“Ensuring the underlying foundations are in place opens up a lot of opportunity for us in terms of business model development, exploring opportunities to partner with other people, and bringing in other products and services that could be Vanquis-branded or not. So, modern CIOs must be a strategic enabler for new business opportunities.”

Walters says digital leaders continue to encounter new challenges, particularly in fast-moving areas such as IT security. “For those of us who manage cyber, we’ve got to do all our other work and make sure everything stays secure,” he says.

“It’s an arms race, isn’t it? Can the good guys stay ahead of the bad guys? We’ve got to keep investing in new tooling and defensive capability to keep ourselves safe and resilient.”

Become an adaptable leader

Ankur Anand, group CIO at recruitment specialist Harvey Nash, says adaptability is a key success factor for effective CIOs in the digital age. “Everyone is going through the journey and asking questions,” he says.

“You must recognise that no question is a foolish question. Be conscious of where your weak areas are, understand them from the point of view of the broader community and then, through that process, you move up the curve.”

Anand says your ability to progress depends on a broad range of factors, including wider technology and business concerns. More specifically, and despite the potential for decentralised purchasing from line-of-business professionals, CIOs will play a crucial role in overseeing the roll-out of AI across the organisation.

“That process is changing the role of CIO, where they’re not only responsible for the delivery of the technology, but also the enablement of the technology,” he says. “Not many people can understand what needs to be done, so that is challenging the traditional role of the CIO.”

Like other digital leaders, Anand recognises the importance of staying on top of cyber security concerns, especially as errant outsiders change their tactics in response to emerging technology capabilities. Effective CIOs will ensure their teams are upskilled to help reduce the digital leadership burden.

“AI means your target operating model has to be changed again,” he says. “Different people are solving this challenge in different ways. Discussing solutions with them, conversin and getting inputs from your peers is the way CIOs will be able to deal with the challenges.”