“Put Yourself in the CEO's Shoes”
The story of Roger's willingness to confront his new bosses is both instructive and inspirational. If Roger hadn't raised his hand, if he hadn't had the courage and the skill to explain the underlying reality of the situation, the company's visionary strategy would surely have been delayed or possibly even derailed.
This brings me to another point about IT leadership: It's not something that can be taken for granted or treated lightly. IT leadership is like any other form of executive leadership: it requires a combination of confidence, knowledge, empathy, strength, and courage. You can't just show up and wing it—you have to be ready to engage and to play the game at the executive level.
Perry Rotella is the CIO at Verisk Analytics, a company based in Jersey City, New Jersey, that provides information and analytic tools to help customers manage risk. Like most of the CIOs I've met, Perry is a smart guy, and a practical realist. When I asked Perry to name a critical skill that you learn on the job, he replied immediately with one word: leadership.
Lesson
IT leadership is like any other form of executive leadership: It requires a combination of confidence, knowledge, empathy, strength, and courage.
“At the executive level, it's all about leadership,” says Perry. “I have found that if you take responsibility, if you take initiative, if you take ownership—then you can really drive solutions and guide people toward doing great things. It doesn't matter ...
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