Are the days of the enterprise IT department numbered?

A few days ago I attended the NowForum in Sydney where Lalitha Biddulph gave a fantastic presentation in which she declared that in the not too distant future, IT departments as we know them will cease to exist.  My initial thoughts were that we will always have users wondering where the ‘Any’ key is, however if we take a deeper look, Lalitha may not be too far from the truth.  In fact there are a number of people out there who believe that the days of the IT department are numbered.  If that is indeed what the future holds, should I be retraining for a different career rather than pursuing my goal of becoming a CIO?

We have been seeing a shift around managing and maintaining IT infrastructure for a while now with both outsourced IT infrastructure and applications (aka cloud) and also outsourced IT services for operation (i.e. managed services) and maintenance tasks (break/fix support contracts).  This shift is occurring through both IT led initiatives and through unofficial business led ‘shadow IT’.   Although the traditional roles of helpdesk, network support and systems administrator will be around for a while still, they will be seen less and less within the enterprise.

In the interim, the focus of the IT department will become one of digitization and automation.  The people who are currently entering the workforce, were born into a world where there has always been a PC and we are not too far away from a time when the people entering the workforce will have grown up with smart phones.  When these people require an application for their smart phone, they don’t call up the vendor support number and ask them to install the application for them, they simply visit the respective vendor portal and request the app to be downloaded and installed.  This is the same experience that the IT department needs to deliver to its users through the digitization and automation of the IT function.

The next logical step is to provide the same digitization and automation for functions within the rest of the business, such as automating the HR on-boarding process – user account creation, assigning a desk, ordering a computer, phone and business cards, security and ID cards can all be digitized and automated.  It’s at this point where Lalitha believed that the enterprise will no longer require an IT department, instead there will be a requirement for business people with IT knowledge and acumen.  The focus will be on enterprise service management rather than simply IT service management.

So if the goal is to deliver value to the business by innovating and providing services that enable a competitive advantage, it remains pretty much the same as the goal of a current day CIO.  Whether the role is part of a more traditional IT department or a position with a different title remains to be seen, however I’m confident that the path I’m currently pursuing will still be relevant in 10 years’ time.

If the IT department within the enterprise was to be abolished sometime in the next 10 years or so, I believe the most likely place for the CIO role would be within the finance department, which would not be a bad thing.  In my working career, most decisions to offshore workers seems to come from the finance department, yet I have never known a finance department to authorize offshoring of themselves!

Do you believe that the days of the enterprise IT department are numbered?  Will the CIO role still exist in 10 or 20 years?  Let me know your opinion in the comments below or contact me on twitter @theroadtocio

August 2014 – Update on the road to CIO

I started this blog a few months ago with the purpose of recording my journey as I transition from a technical network engineer to the CIO role, along with advice for others that want to eventually become a CIO and looking at a number of issues that CIOs face from the point of view of someone on the outside looking in (or up).  I’ve since come to realize that this journey that I’ve set out on will take time and weekly updates regarding that week’s topic in my Human Resource Management subject is not necessarily of interest.

I’m currently part of the way through the third subject of my master’s degree and once complete I will have reached the halfway point of my degree.  I’m trying to concentrate solely on completing the course, rather than also taking on any other learning activities, such as further ITIL certification.  So far my subjects have included management, IT management issues and now human resources management.  The remaining subjects will cover organizational change, finance and strategy.

We are currently undergoing a fair amount of change at work with our CIO resigning and moving on.  I will not be applying for the role as not only am I grossly unqualified at this stage, there are many people internally who would be more suited, plus they are hoping to hire externally in order to get a fresh set of eyes looking at IT.  What I am hoping to do is to position myself and prepare to take advantage of any possible restructure or shakeup that occurs once a new CIO comes on board.  To that extent I’m currently preparing a report that follows on from the IT strategy developed last year and outlines how we can improve our IT by moving to a service delivery based model – made possible now since our previous CIO was very averse to implementing ITIL or any other service delivery frameworks.  Although this report was not necessarily a task of mine that came from the strategy, by displaying leadership in this area I will hopefully be in a position to take any opportunities that may arrive in the coming months.

Feel free to let me know what you’re doing to move forward on your own journey to become a CIO, especially if you are just starting out like I am.  Please leave a comment below or contact me on twitter @theroadtocio

Why you must set goals if you want to climb the IT career ladder and become a CIO

Recently I’ve come to the realization that if I want to make the move from a technical role to an IT management role and eventually to become a CIO, I needed to make that my goal and work towards it.  In the last 6 years or so I’ve changed jobs quite a few times, generally for either increased job security, better working conditions or just for more money.  But if you take a look at my career progression, there hasn’t actually been any consistent theme or trajectory.  And that’s probably the main danger of not setting a career goal, drifting aimlessly from one role to the next rather than actually progressing.  Or finding that you’re now stuck in a role for too long because you've let too many opportunities pass you by.

While some people may simply find themselves in the right place at the right time and sort of fall into a management role, 99.99% of the time the role will go to someone who has set their sights on getting that position and has put in the work to get that position.  It is absolutely no use, just sitting around and expecting that one day someone will just notice your talent and offer you a promotion, or that if you are simply there long enough they will have to offer you the manager’s job.  It just doesn’t happen that way.  Unless you set yourself a goal and work towards it, you simply won’t achieve success in your personal or professional life.

I first tried setting some goals last year, however it was a total failure and I don’t believe I achieved a single one.  I simply decided in January I was going to set some goals, so I opened the back of a notepad and wrote some personal goals down.  The goals weren’t looked at again until the end of the year when I realized what a failure they were.

Unlike some IT systems, goals are not ‘set and forget’.

In order to take control and start tracking my goals I signed up to receive Todd Nielsen’s Ultimate Annual Personal Success Plan, a series of spreadsheets that let you set and track short, medium and long-term goals and develop the habits necessary to ensure that you are successful in all areas of your personal and professional life.  The system is quite straightforward and easy to use, however Todd has created a number of videos that explain each section to make sure that you get the most out of it.  Todd has made his Ultimate Annual Personal Success Plan available for free if you simply subscribe to his website ToddNielsen.com.

Despite all that, I’ve found that I still have some work to do in developing my habits to be successful, as well as the habit of regularly setting and reviewing my weekly goals.  I’ve already found myself making the same old excuses of being too tired due to the baby going through a growth spurt and picking up another feed at night, not having time due to studying for my exam or simply being lazy and ‘not feeling like doing it’.  I think that part of the issue is that I haven’t fully developed my vision and as a result I’m not as motivated as I could be since there is no clear end-state in mind, however this is something that I am working on.

How do you keep track of your own goals?  Is finding the time to set and monitor your goals on a weekly basis simply the result of developing the habit or does it require motivation?  Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Why the top 10 skills required for a CIO won’t help you get there

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.

Get your boss to pay for your degree

In my previous post I discussed the first steps to becoming a CIO which included a postgraduate degree, such as an MBA, and certifications in IT service management and project management.  Unfortunately degrees and certifications cost money.  Often large amounts of money.  Money that can be hard to come by when you have a mortgage and a family to support.  So the question is how can you afford to start on the road to CIO when you aren’t on a CIO’s salary?  The answer is to get your boss to pay for it.

For IT Service Management courses such as ITIL and COBIT, or project management courses such as PMBOK and PRINCE2, you may be able to complete these using your company’s regular IT training program, however asking your employer to pay for a degree may not be as simple.  For starters, a degree will take a much longer period of time to complete and will cost a lot more money over the length of the course.  As far as the best way to ask your boss to pay for your degree goes, it is the same way that you ask for money for a project: with a business case.  While you may not need to submit a formal business case, in some situations an email or even talking with your boss may suffice, the essence remains the same: describe what it is that you will be doing, provide timeframes, and most importantly outline how it will benefit your boss and the business.

Research

Before approaching your manager, work out what course or degree you want to do and find out all you can about it.  Where is the course being run?  Is it being run in a classroom or via distance?  Is it full-time or part-time (a part-time degree is more likely to be approved than attending full-time)?  How long is it expected to take?  When do applications need to be in by?  What subjects and/or electives do you intend to take?  How much will it cost?

Next you will need to start thinking about how your company will benefit from your study.  For someone currently in a technical role looking to do a postgraduate degree, some examples may include developing skills to further help with the creation of business cases for technology investments, improved project management skills or development of leadership skills to take on more responsibility and be more effective in mentoring junior staff.  Often the people responsible for the providing the course/degree will be able to provide you with material or ideas regarding the benefit to your employer.

Talk with your manager

Your manager will be able to advise you on whether the company already has a program regarding training and whether a postgraduate degree would be covered.  Since your manager is interested in your job satisfaction and career progression, talk to them regarding your personal development and what your goals are, as well as how your new degree would benefit the team.  Your manager will then be able to advise you on the next steps, whether you need to develop a formal business case or simply send through an email with the details.

Once you’ve started the conversation, take the opportunity to open a dialogue with your manager regarding management in general and what they did to get there and learn from them.  Your manager may be flattered that you’re taking an interest and are looking to follow the same path as them.  If the conversation goes well and your manager is someone you respect, then it may even go as far as your manager becoming a mentor.  At the very least, your manager will know that you are interested in furthering your career in management and may look to provide you with opportunities to develop such as managing projects, or helping to put a business case together.

Deliver the goods

If you’ve managed to provide a good business case and your boss has agreed to pay for your degree, the next step is to repay the investment that your employer has made in you by delivering the goods.  That is, you must continue to perform at the office, if not at an even higher level than before, while making sure that you pass each and every subject.  Once you have graduated you will be expected to continue to put your learning into practice perform at a higher level.

Things to be aware of

Be advised that if your employer is going to make this investment in you, they may put some stipulations around that investment, such as agreeing to stay with them for two years after the completion of the course otherwise you will need to repay the cost of the course.  Or they may expect you to maintain a certain grade point average while you are studying.  You may also need to pay upfront for the cost of the course and then request a reimbursement from your employer.  Finally, depending on the state or country that you live in, there may be tax ramifications with tuition reimbursement classed as income or subject to fringe benefits tax, so you may want to consider seeking some professional advice from an accountant as well.

What if my boss won’t show me the money?

If you’re employer simply won’t pay for your degree, you may want to ask them to part-fund your study, or at least provide you with some time off for study.  In many places, paying for self-study related to your employment may provide you with some tax deductions, which may make your study more affordable.  However if you really cannot afford to enrol in a degree or course, there are other options available to you.  Investigate free online courses from organisations such as Coursera, Udacity or EdX or look for other free sources of information on the internet.  Ask to take on more responsibility at work and learn by jumping in at the deep end.  The main point is to not let something like this stop you.  Remember that a lot of the successful CEOs out there didn’t finish high school or college, there is no reason why CIOs would not be successful without a postgraduate degree.

Remember that if you don’t ask you won’t receive.  At the very least, your manager will know that you are interested in furthering your development and your career and may be able to help you on that path through other non-financial means.

First steps to becoming a CIO

In my previous post I gave an outline of what I believe is the career path from a technical role to CIO, with the first step being that of a team leader position.  Unfortunately in my current organization, there is no team leader role as such, so how do you begin to climb the IT career ladder when the bottom rung of the ladder is missing?  Instead I need to find ways of gaining the equivalent skills and experience.  I’ve identified four things that I believe will equip me with the skills and experience that I believe would be the equivalent of a team leader role, and since I intend to progress further, would also provide me with the opportunity to demonstrate the qualities required in a junior manager role.

Postgraduate degree

Late last year I began studying for a Master of Management (Information Technology) via distance education.  I chose this degree over a more traditional MBA as I was able to receive credit for half of the degree thanks to my industry certifications, meaning that I can study only one subject per semester and will complete the degree in 2 years.  This is a major drawcard with both family and work commitments.  I was also able to get my manager to agree to pay for my tuition fees, which will be the topic of a future blog post.

For my electives I have chosen subjects that encompass management in general as well as the management of people, managing organizational change, finance and strategy.  I believe that these subjects cover a good cross-section of the sorts of skills and knowledge that are required to move up to the lower levels of management where the focus is more on resourcing, budgeting, and the implementation of IT projects rather than developing a high-level vision.

In the future if I find my career stalling, I may look towards completing an MBA, as I believe it will be more widely accepted by the upper levels of management, however that will of course depend on work and family commitments at the time.

IT Service Management (ITSM) and Project Management certifications

The team leader and junior management levels are responsible for service delivery and strategy implementation, making ITSM and project management skills highly relevant.  I have completed the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) version 3 Foundation and PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments, version 2) Foundation level certifications, although there are many other ITSM and Project Management frameworks out there such as COBIT 5 and PMBOK.  In the future I intend to take further courses in these areas to expand on my knowledge.  I was able to attend both of these courses through my employer as part of the general IT training budget.

Volunteer for projects

Taking on projects, especially those projects that no one else wants, is a great way to increase your visibility in front of management and the business, which also means that it is important to do a good job.  Leading a project requires resourcing, budgeting, organizing and problem solving, all skills that are essential for those in team leader or junior management roles.  As an example I have recently volunteered to develop and implement an IT asset lifecycle management program.  Although I don’t have the necessary skills in this area I will need to bring in people that do have those skills and be responsible for managing those people to achieve the desired outcome.

Broadening your IT knowledge base

The further you move up the IT management ladder, the broader your knowledge of IT needs to be.  A search of current IT manager jobs shows that they are often after an all-rounder covering a wide range of technologies.  With that in mind, once I have completed my degree I intend to look at some Microsoft server certifications, whereas a SysAdmin may look at doing a CCNA certification.  Expanding your technical skillset will increase your effectiveness in your current role while broadening your knowledge base will be of value when looking to move forward in your career.

So although the first step up towards becoming a CIO is missing in my current organization I haven’t let it deter me from working towards my goal. I’m interested to hear from others what initial steps they took when starting out on their IT management journey and finding out what they found valuable and perhaps what they found to be a waste of time.

Career path to CIO

When setting out to achieve a career oriented goal, it seems like a logical step to sit down and work out what your career progression will look like in order to achieve that goal.  Since I’m sure that I am not the first person who has decided that they would like to move from a technical role into the upper levels of IT management, I thought it wouldn’t be hard to find what that career path from a technical role to the CIO would look like.  Unfortunately all my searching seemed to come up with were stories of people who went from a technical role, to some sort of management role, and then became CIO, or simply a list of the 5, 8, or 10 skills needed to be a CIO.

If I want to progress my career in the school system, the military, or even the public service, there is a set path of progression up through the ranks that can be mapped out.  So why then is it so hard to find a simple path to the position of CIO?  The answer lies in the fact that from the top down, no two IT departments have the same organizational structure.  The CIO may have a place in the boardroom reporting directly to the CEO, or they may be like my current employer where the CIO reports to the COO, or IT may still fall under the finance department.  There may be multiple C-level IT executives with the recent invention of the Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO).  A smaller organization may only have a single layer of management below the CIO, or there may be many layers of management with a convoluted organization structure, such as Cisco, who in August last year were reported to have 419 presidents and 2,420 directors.

So does this mean that those articles where people somehow got into management and then rose to the level of CIO is the true path to follow?  Yes.  And no.  While it is the case that someone in a technical role will most likely have to weave a path through the various levels of IT management, there is nothing to stop the business from hiring a non-IT person for the CIO role, such as David Weymouth who was named as Barclays CIO after he was COO of Barclays’ business banking division.  In fact there are numerous debates raging online regarding whether the CIO should come from a technical or a business background, which will likely be a topic for a future post.

Since there is no set career path to become a CIO, I’ll provide what I see as some logical steps to take in order to reach an executive management role in IT from the point of someone that is currently in a technical support role.  Although I’ll cover this in more detail in future posts, the most important thing to remember when seeking a promotion is that you will not be promoted on the promise that you will perform at a higher level, you must demonstrate that you can do your current job well while displaying some of the qualities necessary for the higher position, bearing in mind that the management and leadership skills required will be different at each step.

Step 1 - Team Leader

The team leader’s position adds some managerial responsibilities to what is essentially still a technical role.  On the management side, a team leader will be responsible for the correct resourcing, such as managing rosters, managing and improving technical processes, and be the point of communication between the team and management.  A team leader drives performance on the technical side through leading by example and coaching or mentoring junior members of the team.  In an organization where a team leader position does not exist, you need to not only stand out technically, but be proactive in seeking responsibility and taking any opportunity for greater engagement with the business.  Examples of this would be to take responsibility for the delivery of projects and working with other departments to ensure that the project will meet or exceed the business requirements.

Step 2 – Junior manager

At this level you may be the manager of a service desk or a small team, such as a team of SysAdmins.  While this is likely to be a hands-off managerial role, you will still be expected to have a deep technical knowledge and be capable of mentoring junior members of the team.  At this level the emphasis is more on the management function rather than leadership: implementing strategy rather than developing strategy.  A junior level manager is focused on making effective use of resources, planning, budgeting, controlling and problem solving.  A junior manager may be responsible for delivering small projects delivering value to one or two business units.

Step 3 – Senior manager

At the senior management level you may be in charge of a large team or a number of teams, such as an IT infrastructure manager or operations manager.  Senior managers are expected to both assist with the development of strategy and to drive the implementation of the strategy as well.  Senior managers require less of a specialized technical knowledge, rather they need to have a broader base of technical knowledge as well as strong connections to the business in order to ensure that the services that IT delivers assist the overall business to achieve its objectives.  Senior managers would be responsible for delivering large projects that will deliver value to the entire business.

Step 4 – CIO/Executive manager

The number of executive managers will often depend on the size of the IT department.  In a smaller IT department this may simply be the CIO, or in a larger organization it may include a number of C-level executives along with a number of IT directors or presidents.  The executive level of management is skewed towards the leadership function, rather than the management function, responsible for establishing an IT strategy that is designed to assist the organization to achieve its business objectives and to motivate, inspire and align people in order to deliver on the strategic vision.

While there is no set career path, hopefully the above steps have provided you with an idea of the career steps that can be taken in order to reach the position of CIO.  Keep in mind that there is no single path to take and the path will vary based on an organization by organization basis.  In future blogs I intend to cover in more detail the steps that I am taking to reach each level of management along with discussions on the management and leadership skills needed at each level of management and how they differ.

The road to CIO

Welcome to the first post of The road to CIO blog.

Although there are a number of CIO blogs out there, these are generally aimed at those already in CIO or IT management positions covering topics regarding leadership or playing buzzword bingo with the latest technology trends.  Although this site will cover some of those topics that are relevant to IT Management, it also aims to provide information on how to move from a technical position to the upper levels of IT management as I document my journey from a network engineer to a CIO.

There currently appears to be a lack of good information regarding a defined career path for IT staff into IT management.  Perhaps this is because the concept of the CIO role itself is a relatively new idea where previously the management of the IT department would fall under finance.  Whereas someone with a business degree may go on to get an MBA and become COO or CEO, or someone with a finance degree may go on to become a CPA and move into a CFO role, the path for an IT professional is much less clear.  This blog aims to fill that gap.

About me

I am a network engineer who has spent the last 12 years or so working for ISPs, systems integrators/consultants and in the enterprise space.  I have a great job as a senior network engineer at an end user organisation, with plenty of flexibility regarding work hours and working remotely, which is especially important with having three kids under the age of 4.  I have a bachelor’s degree in engineering (telecommunications) and numerous IT industry certifications.  I’m currently balancing work and family commitments with a master’s degree in management (information technology).

So if I’m happy with my current job and they provide the flexibility that I need, it begs the question as to why I would choose to undertake this journey.  Is it for money?  While the money could always be better, the answer is no.  The reason is that after 12 years I’ve come to the realisation that I don’t want to do IT support for the remainder of my working life.  I don’t want to be approaching age 65 and still be doing on-call after hours support, or working for a systems integrator and worrying about booking billable hours.  So for me the obvious answer is management.

Will I ever reveal my real name?  Unlikely.  Since the whole point of this blog is about changing roles I do not intend to jeopardise my chances of getting a new position or damage the relationship with my current employer by publicly advertising when I apply for new roles.  Do I have a timetable in which to achieve this goal?  No, in fact it is likely that I will never get there.  Now this may seem counterintuitive when the whole premise of this blog is based on becoming a CIO, however my main priority in life is my family and not a personal quest to become a CIO.  I will certainly do what I can to get there, however I will not sacrifice everything to do so.

I hope that as this blog grows that my thoughts and commentary will provide useful information to those interested in moving from a technology based role to an IT management role, and in turn will encourage others to share their knowledge and insights with me.