You’ve
decided that you want to climb the IT career ranks from a technical role to
become a CIO, so you go off and research what it takes to be a CIO. You learn about leadership, strategic
thinking and outlining a compelling vision that aligns the IT goals with the
goals of the business. You take the time
to practice and hone these abilities while you sit and wait for someone to recognize
your skills and give you a tap on the shoulder.
Right? Not exactly. While the CIO is a leader that is responsible
for defining the strategic direction and driving the alignment between IT and
the business, the skills required are not the same as those at the lower levels
of IT management.
Leadership
versus management
One way to
look at this is to compare the qualities of leadership against the management
function. Abraham Zaleznik first asked
the question in 1977 Managers
and leaders: Are they different?
Zaleznik believed that managers and leaders were different kinds of
people, with managers having to cope with performing more mundane tasks such as
administrative tasks and controlling resources to solve problems, whereas
leaders were “great” people who were active rather than reactive and dealt more
with visions and ideas.
The views
on leaders and managers have changed since 1973, with Henry Mintzberg
using the
terms leader and manager interchangeably because “managers have to lead, and
leaders have to manage.” What hasn’t
changed though, is the view of the tasks and processes of management versus
leadership. Management involves
allocating and making use of resources, planning, budgeting, organizing,
staffing, controlling and problem solving, whereas leadership involves
establishing a direction and vision, motivating, inspiring and aligning people
in pursuit of the vision. Organizations
require both management and leadership because if everyone is focused on
leading, then no one is managing the processes and doing the work.
Transactional
leadership and transformational leadership
A
transactional leadership style utilizes incentives and disciplinary actions as
motivation for followers, i.e. there is an exchange (or transaction if you
will) of reward for performance.
Transactional leadership is reactive, allowing managers to adapt to
change to ensure operations continue to run smoothly. Transactional leaders will often be hands-on
and will often be looked upon to lead by example.
Transformational
leadership on the other hand appeals more to a follower’s higher calling by
providing inspiration and intellectual stimulation. Transformational leaders are often labelled
charismatic with their ability to firstly articulate a vision and secondly to
inspire followers to strive to reach beyond their potential to realize that
vision. Transformational leaders may be
regarded as innovators and risk takers.
Junior
management and senior management
At the
lower levels of management, a manager’s tasks are more focused on the
management processes of organizing, supervising and controlling, rather than
developing vision and strategy. In order
to move into these lower levels of management, you will be required to display
resourcing and problem solving skills. A
senior level manager on the other hand will be more concerned with the
development of strategy and building a management team capable of realizing
their vision.
Although the
traditional view of leadership leans more towards the transformational style,
the type of leadership employed should be determined by the situation. A transactional leadership style may well be
more effective at the junior level to ensure that operations run smoothly, whereas
senior managers are more likely to exhibit transformational leadership traits.
Why the top
10 skills required for a CIO won’t help you get there
As I’ve
discussed in the previous sections, the management processes and leadership
styles required in IT management are different depending on what level you are
at. The skills required to become a
successful CIO, will not necessarily help you to make that first step into
management. While it is a good idea to
research and keep abreast as to how the CIO role is changing and what the role
may require of you, it is important that you not jump too far ahead of yourself
and lose sight of what you need to be doing to excel in your current position in
order to make that next step up the management ladder.
So
what required skills are common between the CIO and the most junior IT
manager? If a technical IT staff member
wishes to move into management, should they be exhibiting the same skills that
are require to become a successful CIO? Join
the conversation by leaving a comment below.
