The CIO type
Q: I am an IT director for a large company and want to tailor my career toward a CIO position. I have an extensive business and operational background but only two years' experience as an IT manager. What is the best method for contacting a career counselor?
A: You have raised two of the most significant, ongoing IT career questions: How do you become a CIO without a technical IT background? And how do you go from an IT director's role to CIO?
First, as I have said in this column and in many presentations on this subject, I believe that a CIO who lacks a foundation in technology is always at a disadvantage. And second, any enterprise hiring a director-level executive from the outside to become CIO must acknowledge the message that this action sends to the existing IT staff, especially the CIO's direct reports, regarding their abilities and readiness to take on the top job and perhaps also regarding the internal promotion policy. The best way to make the leap to CIO is, of course, from the inside.
Large organizations usually have CIO-type positions with divisional, regional, line of business or strategic business unit responsibility. I highly recommend this career-path strategy, while also carefully entertaining any small-shop CIO opportunities that may present themselves.
As for attracting the attention of executive search consultants (I assume that's who you mean), please refer to the questions and answers appearing in this column regarding résumé preparation, contacting career professionals and IT networking.
THE PERFECT CIO CANDIDATE
Q: I am the director of IT, and have been for several years, for a company with 170 employees and four offices around the world. I want to convince the company that it should consider a CIO and that I'm the person for the position.
Our CEO does not really see the need for a CIO, believing that a director does the job just fine for a company of our size. Most of the executive team feels the same way. The problem is that I now operate at the CIO level and the team just doesn't see that.
What should I do, and how can I make my case?
A: The size of a company doesn't matter, and all companies need a CIO just as they need a COO and a CFO.
Is your issue a matter of title, compensation, stature, respect, responsibilities, resources or a combination of the above? Determine which of these are truly missing, which are important to you, and proceed appropriately. Take your case to the CEO and show him specific examples of how your strategic initiatives have benefited the company's top and bottom lines. Search out and use available literature, surveys and benchmark examples of how the head of IT is titled, rewarded and supported in other organizations, especially the smart and profitable ones.
If you haven't yet created your own "portfolio" of demonstrable contributions to the company's operational efficiency or competitive advantage and
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