Strategic IT: Best Practices for Managers and Executives

Chapter 7

Implications for Personal Development

As noted repeatedly in the preceding chapters, the chief information officer's (CIO) role is at a critical fork in the road. The consumerization of technology has gotten (not getting—but gotten) to a point where CIOs must transform themselves quickly to respond the needs of their organizations, particularly as it relates to the role of technology as a competitive advantage. We have seen in the case studies that CIOs must become better communicators to create important relationships with their C-suite colleagues. Furthermore, CIOs must integrate their IT organizations in such a way that they integrate seamlessly with the business and with their firm's clients. This important transformation has little to do with the technology itself; rather it is about creating the proper mindset in the IT organization—that is, a new IT culture is needed. Indeed, many CIOs agree that they need to integrate IT better in their organizations, yet so many fail to actually do it. The question, then, is why? We believe that to form a new IT culture starts with changing the current mindset of the management and staff. Methods to evolve behaviors and norms are related to a number of theories of strategic advocacy, a way to first evolve the personal development of the CIO, which we think can then change the culture of the IT organization as a whole. Specifically, we believe the reason why some CIOs have clearly accomplished success while others have not relates ...