Collective Leadership to Bridge the Gaps in Modern Information Management

Too often individuals including leaders are so busy looking at the trees that they fail to see the forest. 

Unless one's company is in the business of providing information technology or related services, in the traditional organization, IT tends to be viewed as a back-office, cost-generating function. Regardless of how indispensable it may be to the company's strategic imperatives in such cases, it seems ‘never’ to achieve the same status as 'line' or revenue-generating functions. But never say ‘never,’ IT has to be perceived as ‘brain-yard’ of business and strategic partner, what’s leadership requirement for modern Information Management?

Paint an excellent picture of the interaction and interdependence between the leadership team: The key is to recognize that this is at a strategic level and the tactical elements involve many additional factors. Trends, business models, the marketplace, etc, all start to influence the actual adoption and the "degree" of direct leadership due to circumstances. The CIO has become the critical link to the business being successful; this requires that you have other C-Levels' support that allows this kind of thought and direction. One of the core skills for a modern CIO to be successful is her/his capacity to collaborate with her/his C-level peers and enable them to see the "light." IT is no longer simply the concern of the CIO. Moreover, the CIO is no longer concerned solely with IT. IT moved up the ladder as an enabler of organizations and needs to understand the nature of the organization. Aligning IT means that this is a collaborative approach and the concept of governance comes into the picture. Ultimately, companies achieve IT they are willing to participate in building and participation, and leadership by C-level executives is crucial to creating something that can really contribute to success. In other words, IT does not work in a silo, it needs business support. As the CIO continues to become an, even more, critical and integral member of the C-suite, the CIO's role is becoming far more than simply keeping the lights on - but is transforming to significant business enablement, as a full partner with C-level leaders.

IT "enlightenment" comes when IT allows the business to do new things: When it is part of the business toolkit. Not when it simply supports the things the business would do otherwise. CIOs are uniquely qualified to do this. Their constant exposure to data and the fact that they are usually the most "connected" of all management group makes them a lightning rod for new ideas and innovation. The challenge is finding an outlet within your organization to channel that lightning once it strikes. IT is transforming from “controller” to “enabler,” leading through “pulling” than ‘pushing.’ To put simply, IT cannot simply create the potential for value, they must be engaged enough with the business (not just the technology that supports the business) to actively participate in value realization. When IT becomes only the mechanism for realizing a vision described by other C-level executives, it becomes a commodity. Leading CIOs have moved beyond, and are reaching out to external clients. Focusing on connecting their companies to markets, helping them understand their clients' evolving needs, and enabling their organizations to grow the business. So ‘crowd-sourcing’ becomes the key ingredient in collective IT leadership. But many CIOs are still mostly internally focused, being measured on their productivity contributions achieved through the deployment and application of IT.

IT governance is led by the CIO but seeks input and consensus with the other stakeholders particularly the other "C"s: The CIO's role at the C-Level is to be an enabler of information at an organizational level. More than that, they need to be an AUTHORITY on information, bringing new technologies and initiatives to the rest of the management team and explaining why an organization SHOULD or SHOULD NOT be implementing them. Far too often CIOs may silo themselves and only interact with other executives at the budget time when it's time to get money for new initiatives. This not only perpetuates the belief that IT is a bottom-line expense and not a strategic partner, but ensures that IT initiatives have limited organizational support. Too often individuals including leaders are so busy looking at the trees that they fail to see the forest: Establishing that active participation is the key. The CIO must have a seat at the executive table that he/she has to be the senior executive pushing the bar higher via innovation. Further, the CIO cannot just take a seat at the executives' table, he/she must be an active participant at that table. As any business looks for ways to innovate or grow, all aspects of the executive team must participate in designing the objectives and strategy. None can sit back and merely respond passively.

Strategy making is teamwork from top-down and bottom-up. The CIO should be executing business strategy through IT, rather than executing IT strategy that supports the business. Information permeates today's enterprise. IT leadership holds the keys to making the company more efficient and effective and implements process and procedures that drive the company to the next level; keep eyes on what happens today, also be focused on what is next. Modern information management takes collective leadership. The level of "silo” in many organizations remains far too high. But that does ensure that those CIOs with the ability to break down organizational silos bring real added value to the enterprise. Given the value that information is playing in the innovation and growth of organizations today, the proactive C-levels engagement in IT leadership will allow for clarification of the strategic direction, success criteria and delegation of responsibilities.

Posted in: C-Level Collaboration,CIO Debate,CIO Leadership,Future of Leadership,Information/Data Management,IT Transformation