9. Improve your leadership abilities
CIOs who want to continue working on what matters next need to demonstrate exemplary leadership capabilities now. “We are at another inflection point for the skill set and role of a CIO today,” Pearlson says.
Westerman believes many CIOs have work to do here, as they to date have advanced their careers more due to their tech talent than their management and executive skills. As a result, CIOs often have more work to do to sharpen those skills than others in the C-suite.
CIOs have plenty of opportunities to improve; they just have to be intentional, Westerman says, noting that tried-and-true leadership development strategies continue to work.
Develop relationships, deliver on promised expectations, seek feedback on how to do better, and then find ways to improve. “CIOs should be asking themselves, ‘Am I getting enough feedback? Am I effective in my environment?’” he adds.
Similarly, Kreutter advises existing and would-be CIOs to seek what he calls “heat experiences” — tasks or projects that come with a lot of pressure — so they’re well prepared for a future that will likely have more high-pressure situations for CIOs than it does today.
“You need to train and do sparring,” he explains. “Building up this experience is crucial.”
So volunteer to enter the fray, and step forward to lead through a crisis. “They’re opportunities to learn and show that you can demonstrate leadership,” he adds.