The Evolving Role of an Association CIO
A recent Ernst & Young report, “Opening the door to the C-suite”, cited that four in ten CIOs find lack of support from their executive peers as their number one roadblock. It even went so far as to say that CIOs only have a one-in-five chance of having a seat at the executive table in their own company.
How crazy is that? Shouldn’t technology to be incorporated into all strategic initiatives and decision making? Maybe it’s time to make the CIO a key stakeholder at your table. Jorg Wahlers, CFO, at Villeroy & Boch says:
“In the past, it used to be enough to be just the techie guy. Today, you need to be a good business consultant to the CEO, the COO and even the CFO.”
The role of the CIO has rapidly been changing. They are no longer responsible for just installing out of the box software. In this day and age, CIOs can’t just have perfected their technical skills. They need to be excellent communicators that can talk to all levels of people in and outside of the organization.
Today’s CIO needs to have a comprehensive understanding of the rest of the business, so they can talk about the increased value technology can bring. There are some things CIOs can learn from the CEO as a business leader.
Tips to rise as a stellar association CIO
- Develop your softer skills in communication and leadership
- Remember who your audience is and how you can address their needs
- Understand all areas of the business and how you can enhance them. That means operations, membership, etc.
- Lose the technical language
- Communicate complex problems in simple and easy to understand terms
- Become a change management expert – implementing technology and changing processes worries people. Be the white knight. This is more important than ever before.
If you really want to stay at the top of your game, then perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your technology strategy and use your IT Team as more than just a tool.
