Career Planning for CIOs (166320701)

7/29/2019 Career Planning for CIOs (166320701)

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Career Planning forCIOs

Mark Askren

University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Chief Information Officer

October 19, 2011



Agenda

• Career planning observations

The senior leadership view

Relocate, or do it the hard wayKey success factors

• Advice from the experts

Higher ed CIOs

Executive search firms



The view from the top

Senior leaders are generally looking for a CIOthat is…

• Familiar with technology *and* able to describeissues and ideas to “the rest of us”

• Strategic with a recognition that the primary

mission is to enhance the academic program

• Collaborative and service oriented…lack of trust incentral IT organizations for core services leads toredundancy or worse



The view from the top

Senior leaders are generally looking toavoid…

• The typical IT person : )

• The world traveling expert that doesn’t focusenough on being the CIO of their own institution

• The “pay phone” CIO



h



CIOs’ Perceptions of the Skills Needed to Be a Successful CIO



IMO…key success factors

• Have a plan

• Seek out lateral moves to broaden your base

• Introduce yourself to search executives and ask

them for a realistic assessment• Reach out to potential mentors (even if you’re

already a CIO)

• Learn your strengths and weaknesses through amanagement institute and tools like a 360

• Relocate to where the opportunities are



Learning from the experts…



A Question for the Big12 & BigTen/CIC CIOs

Which attributes or skills have been

the most helpful in establishing yourcareer?



Key attributes for success

• Willingness to constantly put the institution first

• Organizational change management skills

• Communication via all modalities – writing, small andlarge presentations, one-on-one

• Listening…to clients and your staff. Don’t be sold on anidea or direction before hearing what others say

• Encouraging…help your teams get through that last 10%of the work that is the most challenging

• Being responsible for outcomes



Key attributes for success

• Organization – the ability to organize both the tasks tobe done and the items to be considered/thought-through. Hard to see how a disorganized person cansucceed in the CIO role

• Combined skills related to customer service,collaboration, technology, analytics, generalmanagement, and doing the right thing (ethics,discipline,…)

• Knowing the academic and business aspects anddirection of the university, as well as the technology



Questions for the CIO executivesearch firms

• Most important candidate characteristics?

• What are senior leaders really looking for?

• What is the issue when CIOs struggle?

• What advice do you have for the current higher edCIO looking for the next (better) position?



Most important characteristicsMartin M. Baker – Vice President

Baker and Associates LLC

Strong communication skills are critically important as the CIO needs tointeract with a broad range of constituents, both internally and externally.

The ability to interact with key decision makers on campus is crucial to

the success of a CIO. Information technology lends itself to creating change, butlistening to the needs of those on campus is important when making changesor decisions that will impact them.

Many people in the academy don’t like change, so the CIO needs to have theability to communicate to the users on campus changes that are taking

place, why they are taking place, and how these changes will benefitthem.

CIOs need to be individuals that can make tough decisions.



Most important characteristics

Proven track record of producing operational and financial results and building

a strong team culture within IT organizations

Ability to create an environment of customer service and support

The knowledge and understanding of IT and the ability to forecast new

technology development and the relevant future uses of new services and

technologies within an environment of teaching, research and administrative

educational support

Proven seasoned leadership success across environments of comparable size

and complexity, and interest to work with all divisions of the University, large

and small

Elizabeth Neumann - PrincipalNicholas Brill - Principal

Benjamin Tobin - Associate Vice PresidentBrill Neumann Associates




Demonstrated ability to lead and manage change with vision, energy

and transparency

Commitment to fostering relationships throughout the institution

Ability to work across all levels of the institution and deal withmultiple personalities!

Strong work ethic

Elizabeth Neumann - PrincipalNicholas Brill - Principal

Benjamin Tobin - Associate Vice PresidentBrill Neumann Associates




The ability to build strong and deep team capable of working with large ongoing

projects as well as addressing the daily issues that require resolving

Consensus builder

Ability to work effectively in an environment with ambiguity and uncertainty

Creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial qualities and the ability to multitask in a

pressure-filled environment

A thoughtful listener, strategic thinker, strong communicator, diplomat, andteam

player with unquestionable integrity

Elizabeth Neumann - PrincipalNicholas Brill - PrincipalBenjamin Tobin - Associate Vice PresidentBrill Neumann Associates



Most important characteristicsMatt Aiello - Principal

Heidrick & Struggles

Some degree of tenure/stickiness - The bestcandidates tend to stay 4-6+ years in one place. Anyshorter and there is the suspicion that "something went

wrong"; much longer and the assumption could be that IThas stagnated

Logical career progression - Roles of increasingresponsibility over time and, ideally, promotion from within(as opposed to only being promoted when changing jobs)

Experience with peer institutions - Big 10, AAU, IvyLeague - know how the institution views itself and calibrateyour candidacy accordingly



Most important characteristicsMatt Aiello - Principal


Subject matter expertise/command - In general, mostsearch committees are comprised of non-technical

members who like to see deep technical experience andcredentials

Excellent communication/presentation skills - Noshrinking violets allowed. Comes across as confident butnot arrogant, comfortable but not casual, high energy butnot over the top




Strong leadership skills

Executive presence and excellent communication skills

High energy, passion and drive strategic vision/big picture thinkerGood management, team building, mentoring and development skills

Knowledgeable about the higher ed environment and national trends

Confident without seeming arrogant

Track record of accomplishment supporting academic, administrative and research

IT needsPersuasive

Team player

Linda Hodges – Vice President/IT Practice Leader

Nick Giannas – Senior Associate IT PracticeWitt/Kieffer



What are senior leaders really looking for?

Martin M. Baker – Vice PresidentBaker and Associates LLCIn information technology generally, and higher education

specifically, there are a wide number of talented men andwomen who are very skilled technically. Beyond those technicalskills, there is a big gap with the administrative andleadership skills necessary to be a great CIO.

The ability to interact with a broad range of constituents is

paramount.

CIOs have to be comfortable in an external setting and havegreat communication and delivery skills.

Chancellors, Presidents, and Provosts are looking for very highlevel thinkers who can promote and implement informationtechnology in a strategic way that benefits the programmaticand operational needs of the institution.

Chancellors and Provosts are looking for CIOs that can advocatefor information technology in a collaborative manner with

the other units on campus.




Elizabeth Neumann - PrincipalNicholas Brill - PrincipalBenjamin Tobin - Associate Vice PresidentBrill Neumann Associates

A visionary who can work with faculty, staff andadministrators across campus

Someone who can design and implement astrategy/strategic plan for IT

A recognized leader in the IT community

The ability to relate the technical language of IT to

the business needs of the academic andadministrative business of the institution.

Transparency



What are senior leaders reallylooking for?

A business partner who can relate to and work effectively with variousconstituents: faculty, administration, students, external stakeholders, etc

A technology ambassador who can translate complex technical concepts

into relatable termsA program manager who can start, finish or upgrade major technology

projects on time and under budget

A focused, mission-minded leader who can balance internal needs withexternal visibility (probably leaning internal)

A sage who keeps track of technology trends and can tell us what we don'tknow, where we can go and how to get us there

A guardian who will secure information but enable creativity, collaborationand flexibility

Matt Aiello - Principal





Leadership

Management

Communication

Customer service

Innovation

Excellent planning skills

Ability to provide better coordinated and integrated IS services

A track record with major implementation experience, experience in asomewhat similar organization

Prior CIO experience or perhaps experience in another senior level IT role suchas the #2 or Associate CIO

Ability to build a strong department and develop and maintain a strong team

Strong relationship builder

Solid vendor management experience

Linda Hodges – Vice President/IT Practice LeaderNick Giannas – Senior Associate IT Practice

Witt/Kieffer



What is the issue when CIOsstruggle?Martin M. Baker – Vice President

Baker and Associates LLCThe most common issue I have seen where a CIO hasstruggled is when there is a disconnect between thePresident/Chancellor and the CIO as it relates to ITbeing a part of the academic mission. Some Presidentsand Chancellors see IT as an integral and strategic part of a

University while others simply see it as secondary tool andresource.

Many CIOs are being involved in university-wide decisionsand integrating IT in strategic plans. Those CIOs that arenot being involved and don't have the broad support

from the administration often don't feel like they areadding value, are not being recognized for theiroperations, often don't get the resources they need,and ultimately leads to an environment where the CIOstruggles and becomes frustrated.



What is the issue when CIOsstruggle?

Elizabeth Neumann - Principal

Nicholas Brill - PrincipalBenjamin Tobin - Associate Vice PresidentBrill Neumann Associates

CIOs have not been proactive with broad strategic

communications, particularly with the senioradministration team, and have tended to stay in theweeds.

Technology is in the classroom, in administrative offices,in the high level planning and security at institutions and

should be a part of high level planning and decisionmaking. CIOs may not be as well prepared as theycould be to work in this arena .

It may be unclear whether the institution iscentralized or decentralized relative to IT, and if

this is being clearly communicated



What is the issue when CIOs struggle?

Lack of delivery is the single biggest derailer. Project andprogram management oversight has re-emerged as atheme causing CIOs to struggle – on time, under budget, ROIclear etc. Very basic but very important.

A close second is the ability to engage meaningfully andclearly at the highest levels of the organization and withpeers throughout the institution. This involves both clearcommunication (not “IT speak”) and demonstrating a clearunderstanding of the IT needs of various constituencies and a

quick responsiveness to those needs.

Put another way, struggling CIOs tend to be either tooexternally focused or “high level” and aren’t executing,or are too “in the weeds” and technical and aren’tconnecting at the right level with the right people.

It is not an eas balance with itfalls on both sides.

Matt Aiello - Principal




Advice for the current higher ed CIO looking for thenext (better) position?

Martin M. Baker – Vice President

Baker and Associates LLC

Current CIO’s need to get involved in as manyuniversity-wide initiatives as they can. Most hiringauthorities are looking for leaders who have made apositive and real impact on their current institution.

As the role of a CIO is becoming more external, it is veryimportant for them to understand the needs of the faculty,staff, and students. The most successful CIO’s have agreat understanding of the Academy, beyond justinformation technology.

Along those same lines, it’s important for them to beinvolved nationally and attend conferences, forexample. I would encourage them to not just attendconferences, but serve on a panel or make apresentation. This participation increases their visibility

to other colleges and universities. Indeed, there are a




Elizabeth Neumann - Principal

Nicholas Brill - PrincipalBenjamin Tobin - Associate Vice PresidentBrill Neumann Associates

Within higher education it might be moving to

another larger institution, where the CIO isalready defined as a more senior position

Another possibility is to broaden one's role, thecurrent President of Indiana University came from theCIO role. This requires clear leadership skills, a broad

sense of higher education, and being at the right placein the right time.

Being involved in high-end research could lead tomore lucrative positions.




Matt Aiello - PrincipalHeidrick & Struggles

Think hard about your motivations for looking. If acompensation increase is what you’re after, consider

macroeconomic conditions and make sure yourexpectations are in line with reality (look at 990s andother metrics of who makes what).

Any retained search going on right now in highereducation is extremely competitive and search

committees can be very picky which leads to a longand unpredictable process.





The grass is usually not greener: even if the role paysmore and has a “better” reporting relationship (ie on the

cabinet) the challenges and frustrations aresurprisingly common to what you’re probablyfacing right now.

If you’re going to make a move, make sure it isworthwhile, ie a substantial raise in compensation, a

different kind/league of institution, an attractive location. The rub is, the more “different” from what you’redoing now, the harder it is to become a finalist.Search committees tend to be excited aboutcandidates who look like their own backgrounds.





Keep adding value where you are! Respond to callson good roles and seek out attractive ones, but realize

that these are challenging economic times,especially in public institutions, and it may just bebest to hunker down and serve where you areplanted.

If you do interview for a role, go “all in”. The

worst thing you can do is show up in front of asearch committee and ask them to sell you onwhy you should take the role. That does not work,in this or any other economy. Which goes back to onlygoing after roles where there are real economic,

professional and personal reasons for you topursue.



Your thoughts onCIO career planning?

Career Planning for CIOs (166320701)

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