Journey to CIO

27 Mar

The road to becoming a CIO can be varied and is not always a straight line.  Creating strong relationships with peers and your staff is a common theme for success.  Being able to understand the business and seeing the use of technology as an enabler - not an end in itself is important.  Being able to let go of  technology and embrace the other parts of the business underpins the transition to becoming an effective CIO.  These are some of the learnings from Session 1 of a four part Career Development Series being held by CIS during 2014.

Panel members were:

Paul Bunker – CIO Australia Pacific Airports Corporation, Aust.
Chris Gillies – Consultant & former CIO Bank of Melbourne, Aust.
Leigh Berrell – CIO Yarra Valley Water, Aust.
Christine Gibson – Former Global CIO National Starch, USA.

Facilitator:     Sharon Kneale – Director DBD Learning Solutions

Key Points shared at the event include:

PANELISTS SHARE OWN JOURNEY & ADVICE
Leigh Berrell

• If an opportunity presents itself take it. 
• Make conscious decision to let go of technology and focus on understanding business.  The two worlds aren’t compatible.
• Get to know people in other parts of the business, e.g. Finance, to improve your knowledge

Christine Gibson

• Lift your strategic thinking and that of your team by managing your department like it’s a business
• Have meaningful connections with people in your team by making sure they are all growing and learning in their role.
• Look outside your own business at what other industries are doing. Write recommendation papers for the business.  In her experience this opens doors.

Chris Gillies

• Recognise that the role of the CIO is changing rapidly.  Infrastructure, mobility and communication capabilities are becoming commodity services.  The CIO focus in this digital age is now on business solutions and services.  CIOs who fail to recognise this shift are likely to be left behind.
• Financial skills along with those of contract, vendor and risk management are fundamental CIO skills in this rapidly changing world.
• Never stop learning, grow the people around you, they will help take you to the top and always act with integrity even when things aren’t going to plan.

Paul Bunker

• Take every opportunity to learn. You need to get out of your comfort zone.
• Behave like a leader and people will notice. 
• Don’t worry about having a formal mentor. Surround yourself with great people, connect with them meaningfully and learn from them.
• Latest research by Earnst & Young “Born to be Digital” – How leading CIOs are preparing for a digital transformation.

Six distinctive traits of digital-ready CIOs:

1. Have a strategic vision of how technology will transform the business and know how to implement it
2. Innovate relentlessly
3. Focus closely on driving growth and the relationships needed to support this
4. Ensure the vision is understood
5. Move beyond operations and infrastructure
6. Be courageous Be a risk taker

IMPORTANCE OF QUALIFICATIONS
Chris Gillies

• Qualifications are not as important as experience. 
• To get the job you need to be able to demonstrate your experience When selecting CIOs Boards want: “Show me, Tell me, How did you do it?”
• “IQ matters but so does EQ.  The CIO of the future will be high in both”

Leigh Berrell

• Don’t just do a course for the piece of paper instead use qualifications to expand your horizons. “Vocational qualifications fill your mind they matter, MBA’s Broaden your thinking and horizons which gives you leverage to make an impact on a larger scale”

TAKING RISKS
Paul Bunker

• Important to be open to new ideas.  “Hit the scary stuff head on and after a few attempts all the smoke and mirrors vanish and then you have what you need to move forward”

Leigh Berrell

• Taking risks needs to be in-line with where you are in your life. “Typically if you don’t take an opportunity it will never work out for you.”

Chris Gillies

• Choosing a more challenging role over one with status can lead to rewards of greater knowledge and a broader skill set. 
• “Ask yourself what is the consequence of not taking the risk – if you can’t live with the answer then you know you have to make a move”

Christine Gibson

• “Trust your instincts.  You know what needs to be done. It should feel right.”

RESILIENCE
Paul Bunker

• Resilience is very important.  The job involves tasks that impact on people’s lives eg job losses.  You have to cope with the positive and the negatives.
• Be aware that when you’re a leader there are no “Throw away lines”.  People will take what you say at face value.  Think about the unique position you are in.

Leigh Berrell

• As a leader whatever you project will affect the mood of the work environment.  It’s your job to project the mood that you want the workplace to have not just reflect what’s going on.
• Life after redundancy is sometimes better than before.

Chris Gillies

• Being a leader is about caring for the people who work for you.  If you create an environment where your people grow, develop and learn they will lift you to the top.

DEVELOPING INFLUENCING SKILLS
Leigh Berrell

•  “Influencing is not always about what you can say, it’s about how you listen.  You need to listen and respond thoughtfully.”

Christine Gibson

• You’re part of a team.  Organise regular 1:1 meetings with the other executives to help them understand IT and you to understand the business. Building relationships is important.

Paul Bunker

• It’s all about having real conversations with the executives.  If you cycle through engagement, conversation, inquiry and action with the business powerful things happen.”

FINISHING REMARKS
Christine Gibson

• Lead with and through others.  Align your values.

Chris Gillies

• Be a part of the business.  Try to think about what you’d do if you were in an executive role.  Apply for CIO jobs to learn what’s expected in the role.

Paul Bunker

• “As IT leaders we all have the greatest of opportunities. We need to realise that by using our technical capability and harnessing this with business acumen and effective people skills, we will change and drive the way of the future. There is glory and greatness in that for all."

Leigh Berrell

• Build networks.  Research the jobs.  Prepare examples from your experience that prove you have what they are looking for.