CIO Ten Basic Abilities &Nbsp; Successfully Looking For Career Development Direction.

CIO, who plays a supporting role, may be seen as a mediocre person, but will not be overlooked by top management leaders.

The IT industry is in the process of pformation, and the role of CIO is undergoing major changes. Under such circumstances, their views are particularly correct.

The following are the ten most important leadership qualities that a successful CIO should possess.

First, be an excellent communicator.

In the TechRepublic contact CIO and management recruitment directors, most people think that for CIO, the ability to communicate between departments and companies is the most important.

"For me, this is very important," Hicks said.

To be a great CIO, communication is very important. "

One of the characteristics of CIO with excellent communication skills is its ability to talk freely with peers, and to use non technical language to explain problems to people who do not know much about technology.

Hicks said, "if I talk too much about technology, I can't be very good at promoting the IT department.

You know, in front of CFO, I can't speak like a technician. "

What he can do is communicate with people in the company and let them know that in the process of the development of the company.

Second, a political mind, but not too "political".

In TechRepublic's CIO, most people did not refuse to discuss publicly, but they took a very cautious attitude.

This is quite understandable.

It is one thing to discuss the development direction of a company and the role that the IT department can play in the development of a company. It is another matter to admit that it inevitably involves office politics in the course of the development of a company.

And corporate politics can be an obstacle or an asset for CIO.

The great CIO can find a delicate balance between building good relationships and making the right business decisions.

Lewis said: "this means listening to colleagues' opinions without selfishness, but it does not mean that everything should be selfish.

When making decisions, think of the company rather than yourself.

It's not enough to think for yourself, and the right decisions you make for the company can build credibility and prestige for you, and it will also be good for you. "

Third, have the potential to foresee the future.

At this point, CIO seems to be detached from the real world, leaving business strategy and entering a spiritual world.

But this is very important.

CIO must look at problems in the future, not only to see that the company is moving forward, but also to see the future of the company.

Chambers said: "CIO must have the ability to surpass the reality, understand the direction of the company's business and help the company forward through this foresight."

However, in fact, there are not many people with this ability.

It is not a simple thing to learn this ability.

With this capability, CIO can foresee the direction of the company, accurately locate the IT department to help the company achieve its goals, and establish a strong working group to move forward in the direction of the goal, stimulate the enthusiasm of the staff, and help them achieve their goals as soon as possible through their efforts.

Fourth, it can inspire employees' potential.

For CIO, the ability to motivate employees is of great help to building a strong team.

Holguin said: "as CIO, you have to think of yourself as the motivator of all the members in the group.

With your motivation, they can get the best performance. "

Usually, CIO has the same high expectations for themselves and for the whole working group.

Chambers said: "from a leader's perspective, the desire for success will enable CIO to set high expectations for the company's goals and for the whole team.

And motivating employees to achieve these goals is what CIO must do.

Hicks points out that the desire for success is very important, but it can not be sacrificed at the expense of good management.

"If you don't have excellent management skills, you can't survive in competition."

Fifth, pick a good team.

Although CIO should master certain technical skills, if he has an excellent working group, even if he lacks any ability, he can make up for it through the excellent ability of his team members.

Selecting the best members for a group is a skill.

Holguin said: "as a CIO, I am not always able to understand the answers to all questions.

But since the members of the group have created a working atmosphere of mutual trust and respect in their common work, my team has always been able to find the best solution for every problem.

Building an excellent team can also help CIO build a strong image for the IT department in the company to help the company achieve its goals.

"As CIO, you need a correct organizational structure to achieve your goals," Chambers said.

However, it is not enough to establish the correct organizational structure.

Once the structure is established, excellent CIO should be managed, and an important step in this direction is to listen.

Holguin said: "to listen to what the members say, their views are equally important."

Excellent CIO should also embody authority.

But Holguin said: "this authority is reflected in a responsible way.

Be prepared to understand some accidental mistakes.

When a team member makes a mistake in his work, he should do not criticize, but analyze problems with the team members and draw lessons from them.

At work, I like to encourage creativity of team members. I want them to understand that those who never make mistakes can never achieve creative success.

One situation may kill a good team: competition among the members.

Holguin pointed out: "do not create a competitive atmosphere among team members, which limits their creativity and hinders the progress of the whole group.

In our work, we are not competing. Instead, we gather everyone's strength and concentrate on creating effective solutions.

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Sixth, have a technical mind.

It is possible that the IT department, composed of technical professionals, is under the leadership of non-technical CIO.

However, having a technical mind can usually make an CIO become outstanding.

Chambers said: "a great CIO needs leadership in the field of technology.

This does not mean that he has to understand all the problems of technology. What he wants to know is his field and how to make technology play a role in the development of the company.

PrecisionResponseCorporation's CIOBillHicks points out that there is a difference between CIO and CTO, but in some companies, this distinction is ignored.

Generally speaking, CIO deals with IT business matters, while CTO deals with IT technical matters.

However, in many companies, the work expectation of CIO and CTO has now become a matter for them to deal with these two aspects at the same time.

In fact, some companies have CIO instead of CTO, or CTO and no CIO.

At the same time, it is not a natural thing to succeed in playing the dual roles of both.

Hicks said: "I think we should consciously consider this problem and seek a balance between the two, so that we can bring the greatest value to the company."

Seventh, we can effectively manage expectations.

As mentioned earlier, an excellent CIO should be able to publicize the ability of IT departments to help companies achieve their goals within the company, and help IT departments to build a strong image.

The great thing about the great CIO is that they can promote the IT department but not too much.

"Many CIO have learned the importance of internal marketing," Lewis said.

"But if you only know how to sell, but you can't prove it with facts, you can only throw yourself in the foot.

This is not a good thing. "

One of the best ways to prevent over bragging of the IT department is to set up a team that can formulate plans and strategies on its own level.

CIOAlvaroHolguin said: "an excellent CIO can inspire the whole team's work ability and provide a feasible solution for all problems.

Through continuous challenges to team members, outstanding CIO enables them to know and understand their expectations of their work, which helps them focus their work on completing projects on time and meeting project needs.

Eighth, consider the problem from a strategic perspective and provide support for the realization of the company's business objectives.

Without exception, all the CIO and technology managers recruited by TechRepublic have emphasized that it is important for CIO people to consider the problem from a strategic perspective and apply IT to help them achieve their business goals.

Chambers said: "my role is to apply technical services to meet the company's business needs and help companies achieve their business goals."

To do this will not only help the company, but also enhance the position of the IT department in the company, making it an important force to push the company forward.

As Dippold said, "this can help IT departments build credibility."

In addition, this can also demonstrate the ability of the IT department to provide proactive solutions.

Chambers said: "IT departments understand the industry's market and understand the direction of business development. The realization of their value lies in linking these goals with the company's goals."

Ninth, fully understand the financial position of the company.

Only a few years ago, what CIO needed to know was the financial situation of their department.

But for them now, this kind of day is gone forever - they need to know the financial situation of the company as a whole.

Everything they do and what they achieve is closely related to the whole company's business, so the managers of other departments hope that they can have a thorough understanding of the financial situation of the whole company.

"The past days are gone forever," Chambers said.

Now, we hope that our CIO can learn more about the company's business and master its business management skills.

We have moved from behind the scenes to the stage.

Marclewis, President of North American institution of MorganHoward, head of global technology management, said CIO must also prove to everyone that the work done by the IT department will not only enable the company to recover its investment in the IT sector, but also bring profits.

He said: "the great CIO knows how to pform the IT department from a cost consuming center to a successful profit producing center or an auxiliary business department.

This is like creating a one plus one equals three effect, enabling IT departments to create profits for the company while satisfying their goals. "

Tenth, excellent supply management capability.

Successful supply management means dealing with suppliers outside the company, especially the sellers of services and products.

In this regard, Dippold explains, "I think it is necessary for CIO to manage the service providers effectively."

Of course, we need some skills to do this.

A recent trend in the industry is to reduce IT investment, delay upgrading, and hope to extend the use of existing equipment and software.

Under this trend, it is very difficult for sellers to meet more support and service needs while waiting.