Workplace disruptions and ongoing changes to business, operating, and IT delivery models mean CIOs need to rethink their role as digital leaders. Digital leaders can be restricted from developing innovative ideas by “cognitive traps, ” Gartner Principal Analyst Apoorva Chhabra told SDxCentral.
“If the focus is only on ‘checking the boxes’ by completing several quick-win tasks in rapid succession, it can create a feeling of accomplishment, ” she said. “But such siloed projects rarely result in transformative improvements. ”
CIOs may no longer evolve with the mindset of just being responsible to run, own, and operate all information technology solely as a function, said Chhabra, indicating that resorting to a “command-and-control governance” restricts autonomy plus hinders efficiency.
As a way to help solve the challenge that many CIOs face, Gartner outlined five key characteristics they should adopt to lead and deliver on electronic transformation .
CIOs Should Like Anything New
First, CIO’s should follow “ neophilia” – or a tendency in order to like anything new. The firm suggested effective digital CIOs embrace the tendency to ask “what do we want to achieve? ” rather than “what have we got? ” in order to reject current assumptions and pursue innovation.
A successful CIO also possesses the ability to “ develop new opportunities . ” The particular firm said digital frontrunners don’t invent and innovate all of the time, but in reality, “successful electronic leaders appreciate exactly where their organizations need to be different, where they can copy, and exactly where they should improvise. ”
Gartner also encourages CIOs to “ pioneer new opportunities” simply by looking beyond industry boundaries. Gartner dubs leaders who can “actively seek value past any specific industry and create whole brand new industries as they redefine value in any industry they go after, ” as “digital dragons. ” The firm noted strategies and digital adoption plans are often made only because a result of a market disruption way of thinking.
CIOs should never consider electronic to become the outcome, but “ look for new value creation opportunities, ” which means digital leaders understand that “digital is a means, not an end, ” and that will going electronic does not necessarily increase worth if done incorrectly. The company recommended digital leaders consider the logic behind a product or service’s value proposition before implementing digital tools, and inquire how the electronic offering drives business outcomes of customer centricity, greater market share, and revenue enhancement.
CIOs Should Geek Out on Tech
Gartner indicated CIOs should also “ focus on technology-driven possibilities , ” or “geek out on technology. ” Successful digital leaders possess a holistic understanding associated with the technologies at hand. The firm added, “It’s challenging in order to get value out of technology if you don’t understand what it does or doesn’t perform. ”
Chhabra explained that progressive organizations enable CIOs to capitalize upon these characteristics and “extend the strategic reach of their role in order to best support technology initiatives. ”
Accomplishing objectives requires an expansive role for CIOs that will “must end up being woven into everything the organization does, ” Chhabra said. The scope of the CIO’s role is “deeply determined” by factors such as a company’s electronic ambition, existing maturity of digitalization and technology delivery, plus the level of digital dexterity across the particular enterprise.
But no matter the size associated with an organization, Chhabra said, CIOs can guide them to success by building highly functional teams and maximizing the value of financial resources.
“The key is to achieve optimization as a discipline, not just while a periodic exercise, ” she added. “While they must work within the constraints of a limited budget, they can utilize their own fundamental ability to be nimble within tactical and strategic execution. ”
CIOs additionally may forge relationships with other leaders in order to expand perspective on digital technology adoption and understand trends plus challenges.
“There can be opportunities to co-develop shared technology-agnostic business capabilities to accomplish industry vision and business growth ambitions, ” the girl explained. “Mutual competency growth and innovation could be accelerated through close collaboration. ”
