CIO Mission Update: Change Innovate Operate
A fantastic week. Two CIO events and nearly 100 CIOs through our doors. It was great to catch-up with some of the UK’s leading CIOs, whilst enjoying some early Christmas cheer!
These events are always a valuable temperature check upon the sentiments of the CIO community, and the boards in which they serve. Following on from my thoughts shared in my previous post, the concepts of ‘Techquilibrium’ and ‘The Offensive CIO’ offered some hearty food for thought and discussion.
The mood of the CIO community is certainly up-beat. Of the core elements making up ‘Techquilibrium’ it was unsurprising to hear that CIOs more closely align to the themes of; enterprise decision making, leadership and customer experience. However, more pleasing was that boards are becoming more accepting of the CIO in these capacities.
Digital Society
The final area of ‘Digital Society’ was a topic for great discussion within the CIO community. Amongst our conversation there were different interpretations, nevertheless a need for a connection with organisational purpose is clearly a key part of enhancing business performance.
On this front we polled the guests at our Midlands CIO & Digital Leaders Dinner; 75% felt that they had a very clear understanding of their organisation’s purpose, with 63% of the group citing that clarity of purpose was key to effective motivation of their teams. Moreover, purpose and culture were placed as the two largest influencers upon decisions when hiring into the CIO teams. With their fingerprints firmly upon the designs for digital workplace, CIOs and their teams are clearly stepping up their impact upon organisational culture.
Shaping the business agenda
With a drive for CIOs to be more specifically ‘on the front foot’ of driving and shaping the business agenda, there is a growing recognition that they have earned this role within the boards that they sit upon. It’s certainly the case that if CIOs find themselves amongst a board unwilling to see tech as integral, they should be asking themselves; can you change them before they change you? Even in uncertain times, there are always good jobs for good people, and you will find a more deserving home.
