Can a CIO become a CEO? To some this might seem like an impossible career path, but this could not be further from the truth. To be an effective CIO, one must evaluate the business in the same way as a CEO. It is in this sense that a CIO is distinctively equipped to develop and grow the skills and qualities that make for a successful leader of an enterprise business. In a nutshell, the path from CIO to CEO is the most natural of all. Here is why.
The ‘I’ part
A CIO oversees the use of Information Technology (IT) within the business. As such, the department serves every other functional aspect of the company. In every area, it is imperitive that the CIO is on top of and implementing suitable technology to streamline, optimise and promote strategic business benefits. This means a CIO’s IT strategy will cater to the priorities of the business, and in doing so, will recognise and understand the details of what it takes to run every area efficiently, effectively, and importantly, how each area fits together.
In 2018 technology is fundamental; leveraging technology effectively is a strategic imperitive to the business outcome, more so now then ever before – and that trend is showing no signs of stopping. A successful CIO needs to be a transformational leader – someone who drives their team to work to a common goal through example-setting and inspiring communication of shared values and vision. Essentially, motivating the team to achieve higher performance by appealing to their sense of purpose and demonstrating how each is integral to the bigger business picture – keeping the business running.
This is all to say that, while the CIO is responsible for the business’ technology, it is a far more business-centric role that requires seeing the overarching business objectives, compiling the strategy and driving the roadmap to achieve these goals and providing the dependability and commitment to the business, the team and to operating with excellence.
The ‘E’ part
These same disciplines are critical to executing the role of CEO successfully. It is the job of the CEO to set the business objectives, strategy, goals and vision. The CEO will need to have a very firm understanding of the possible challenges that will occur, the risks worth taking and the ones to avoid. This task requires the skill and experience to take a comprehensive view of the business as a whole – every department, job, action and reaction – to see every part as one synchronised machine, set the goals and map out how to achieve them.
Arguably a CEO’s most important task is communication – communicating business objectives in a way that makes them understandable and relatable to every employee and their role in achieving them. Communicating the business strategy and expectations to shareholders and stakeholders alike and recognising that their relationship with the company should be mutually profitable and beneficial. Communicating your product and vision to the wider public – to customers and prospects. A CEO must be able to exemplify clear, open and effective communication to inspire, persuade and convince, depending on the audience.
A CEO must also practise transformational leadership – setting the tone of the business by example to motivate employees and attract talent. This reigns true for new businesses just starting out and for well-established enterprise businesses. A successful CEO must create the conditions for recruiting and retaining the best talent across the business – operations, customer service, sales, finance, every functional area. By having the right people in the right jobs and empowering them to lead the charge, a CEO should be able to trust every employee to implement the business strategy with excellence.
Last but by no means least, a CEO needs to understand the power of the appropriate and effective use of technology. Technology is the engine that fuels success in this day and age, and having a firm grasp on the technologies out there that make the seemingly inpossible, possle is critical. Keeping up to date on latest market trends is key as innovation is everywhere, and it is with this in mind that having the background of a CIO makes perfect sense.
The Shift
Commonalities run parallel between these two roles – a CIO is almost a CEO-in training. Each roll requires a comprehensive and powerful focus on business requirements, a commitment to operating with excellence and the ability to manage and deliver on expectations. A CIO and CEO must be able to communicate strategy and vision in a way that will energise and empower their teams and anyone who has an impact on the business. Most importantly, both must value and show commitment to their employees in order to motivate, grow and succeed.
So, can a CIO become a CEO? Absolutely.
