Peep into an anthill and you will realise what seamless order and perfection mean. Our tiny insect cousins have engineered a complex organisational structure which, though hierarchal, is highly efficient. At the very apex, sits the queen, the head of all the domicile ants, and does little than preen and procreate. Below the empress, there are scores and scores of worker ants which toil endlessly to ensure that her majesty remains unperturbed and at ease.

Were we to project this organisational structure on to a standard enterprise, more so on to the IT function of a typical enterprise, it will be fairly evident that the CIO is the queen of the IT-hill, waited upon by the rest of the managers and professionals. The IT head often has little to do with IT these days; he frets and fumes over things like RoI, people management, business issues, et al.

For the sake of illustration, take the case of Mr O who is the CIO of a large pharmaceutical company and whose lifestyle is the envy of many. More often than not, he is touring the country, or the globe, for work and conferences. He is courted by vendors, analysts, journalists and others who are all ears for every word that escapes his mouth. Even the CEO of the company pays attention whenever Mr O comes up with a new proposal or strategy. Mr O operates out of a spacious cabin, and moves in hallowed circles receiving awards and recognition with amazing regularity.

So when does Mr O work? Well honestly, he does not; he merely gets the work done. Over the years, he has outsourced much of the infrastructure management to external vendors. Now all he has is a small and well-knit team of managers and IT professionals who handle the day-to-day functioning of the IT infrastructure and the data centre. The anthill is not much different from the IT-hill, is it?

IT Next survey
While one cannot be sure if the worker ant within the anthill aspires to be the queen, but IT managers certainly desire to become CIOs. This was evident when we conducted a survey to ascertain what it takes to be a CIO. Our survey drew responses from nearly 250 IT managers around the country—representing a wide array of verticals, cities and profiles.

To say that the response was overwhelming will be an understatement. Nearly 200 IT managers had completed the survey within two days, with more responses trickling in over the next few days. The dozen odd questions in the survey were designed to capture the ‘essentials’ of what it takes to be a CIO. Once, the verdict was received from the IT managers’ end, the same questions were posed to CIOs and external consultants, and they were asked to share their views.

Based on the findings from the two surveys, we present the 7-step guide to becoming a CIO. Though much of this may seem fairly obvious and commonsensical, do remember that it is the small things that go to make a CIO. And it is these traits and specialities that need to be imbibed and displayed to earn the CIO cap. While the steps may seem fairly easy they demand a complete change of mind set.

Be business savvy
Over the past few years, the role of the CIO has undergone a 180 degree change. While, the CIO continues to remain the king (or the queen) of all things technical, his role has expanded to encompass all functions in an organisation. Thus, a CIO is no more chained to the data centre or the IT department but is expected to take on a bigger and more strategic role within the organisation. This is also because with rapid digitisation, IT and technology are not just backend, but front-end tools.  

What this implies is that while a CIO at a retail organisation may be concerned about implementing the best inventory and warehousing system in his organisation, he also needs to look at the Web and mobile as additional fronts to reach the customer. Here, IT can provide the organisation with a completely new revenue stream that did not exist before. The CIO, in this case, needs to be the change agent who ushers in such a transformation—in a proactive and not reactive manner.

The IT manager too needs to inculcate this kind of business-conscious approach. The first step is to familiarise oneself with all business concepts like RoI, EBITDA and PAT. It is not enough to know just what your company does, you also need to keep track of its financial standing, market share, market scenario, competitors and their strategies. Considering that IT plays a very critical role, the CIO is expected to don a business hat at all junctures. And the IT manager, who desires to take on the CIO role, needs to be at home wearing the business hat as well. So, start practicing it right away.

“The CIO is an interface between business and technology. He is expected to have knowledge of both the worlds. It is very obvious that he can map the technology to business processes and requirements easily because of his understanding of both,” says Ketan Shah, Associate Director, Angel Broking.

According to him, if a manager is aiming to become a CIO, then he has to bring about a major change in his thought process. “An IT manager looks at the business from the technology perspective, while a CIO takes a business view of technologies. This change is possible only when an IT manager starts understanding the business. Once an IT manager develops a better understanding of the business he can start mapping technology to business, since technology is any way his forte,” Shah adds.

‘De-technicalise’
Read a Dilbert comic strip and you will realise what the IT guys think about the world, and in return, what the world thinks about them. Even today, despite the ubiquity of computing lingo, it is hard for a layman to have a conversation with a technical expert. It is not surprising, considering that techies are often considered geeks who will be more at home talking SSL than IPL.

Meanwhile, the CIO, who now plays a much broader executive role, is expected to work in close tandem with other non-IT functions of the company, whether accounts or HR. He might not lead those functions but plays a crucial role in deciding whether they are a success or a failure. He needs to be at home talking about impact of the slowdown, and discussing ways to curtailing attrition.

Hence, the IT manager, wishing to make the transition to the classy glass cabin, needs to ‘de-technicalise’ himself. He needs to come to grips with other functions in the company and be able to discuss them without resorting to technical jargon. In fact, CIOs emphatically highlight this in the IT Next survey, making it the second most important trait or behaviour that is essential to make the shift.

So, next time you step out for a break ensure that you do so with a non-techie. While, it may be a bit tough to discuss IPL when there is the more interesting SSL or VBL, you will soon get the hang of it.

“The mantra for success is to be a very good team player, understand team emotions and be a listener. This makes you very effective in collaborating with peers. And most importantly, translate technical jargon into business language,” observes Sanjeev Kumar, CIO, Polygenta Technologies.

Be the gauntlet guy
Some years back, there was a relatively small BPO firm that acquired a major transnational operator in a big M&A deal. Suddenly, the player that operated out of a few offices in India had a footprint that stretched across continents. The huge addition of manpower, infrastructure, and business was truly mind-boggling.

The management of the company decided to form a core transition team for the amalgamation to be effectively executed. The proactive CIO of the company indicated his eagerness to lead the team. Needless to say, he was assigned the task. Within a year, when the two companies were successfully integrated, kudos (and bigger management roles) came his way.

The moral of the story is simple. If you do not have the stomach to take on challenges, you cannot be trusted to be a leader. If you want to impress the management that you are the apt person for the CIO post, you need to proactively take on more.

In fact, if some challenging project, like a new implementation or productivity measures, is likely to be undertaken, then do not forget to propose your name. The setbacks in the project will teach you a lot, and the success of the project will teach the organisation to take you seriously. Picking up the gauntlet always pays, even when it may not seem apparent.

Become innovative
One CEO shared an interesting insight. A few years back when his company was looking to fill the CIO position, he was caught in a quandary. There were two senior managers with the requisite experience. Both had spent years in the company and were almost similarly placed in terms of education and personal profile. But the CEO did not want to elevate somebody just because of the person’s experience or seniority; he desired someone with an innovative streak.

He noticed that the company’s HR head had played a rather proactive role in the ERP rollout and other similar initiatives. It was no surprise, the CEO opted to bet on the HR guy’s innovation rather than the senior IT manager’s experience.

This incident does not imply that experience plays second fiddle when it comes to bagging the CIO cap. In fact, a vast majority of respondents, in our survey, felt that around 15 years of experience was required to make the transition. But innovation can be a big distinguishing factor. So, as an IT manager, look for ways to bring innovation in the business processes of the company.

Innovation can relate to anything: can you automate the temporary staff muster, or can you devise a tool to compare IT equipment buys. Even Green IT could be a major drive. To be innovative, you need to be attentive to the needs and ways of doing business. Make a point to peruse case studies, interact with peers and imbibe the habit of being innovative.

“In my opinion, the transformation from being an IT manager to a CIO starts with change in mindset, attitude and approach. A typical IT manager is one who spends most of his time in managing IT work like incident management, support management, building IT, running IT systems and infrastructure,” says Prasad Dhumal, Senior Director IT (South Asia), DHL Express.

To graduate from IT manager to a CIO, you need to start looking at the business value of technology and matching it to the overall goal of the organisation. One also needs to be proactive in understanding technology needs of upcoming products and services, and have the ability to closely work with business to develop, innovate and implement IT solutions. Don’t be a re-active partner and execute the standard IT solutions available in market.

“The IT manager needs to broaden his horizon by getting more involved with all the business functions like HR or marketing or sales to understand the underlying organisation processes and improve his own business understanding,” Dhumal adds.

Be a people person
The trouble in interacting with people is that they seldom behave in a rational manner. Unlike computers and data centres that can be easily managed, human management is infinitely more complex. And this is the key requirement from any leadership role, including that of a CIO.

A CIO needs to get his work done from a team of trusted professionals. He needs to inspire confidence amongst team mates. You need to be looked upon as a mentor, a leader who is trusted and respected by the team.

IT managers have to analyse how well (or badly) placed they are as a co-worker. Are you a source of inspiration for juniors in the team? Do they come to you for solutions to their problems? Are you able to get work done with minimum resistance from other members of the team? Have you been able to ensure that the best members in the team are able to grow, and do not leave the organisation?

Answer these questions honestly, and then either pat yourself on the back or change your working style. Remember, while as an IT manager you need to get your work done from servers and desktops, as a CIO you will need to work with IT managers and other professionals. So, start being a people person if you are not one already.

Get networked
Have you noticed how many seminars and events CIOs attend? Or how many memberships clubs and associations they boast of? In fact, Indian CIOs are amongst the most networked CXOs in the world. They have formed different clubs, both in real and virtual worlds, where they meet, discuss and deliberate on various things. Think of any renowned CIO and search for him on Linkedin.com. You will find that he is well connected to his peers, and is a member of several groups. Networking, according to CIOs, is an important way of learning about new technology and solutions.

IT managers should take some time to connect with peers and others. Online, there are social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace and Twitter. But, from a professional perspective, LinkedIn seems to be the best bet when it comes to networking.

Create a profile that fully captures your achievements and strengths, and start connecting with friends and seniors. In the real world, find a club of like-minded professionals and join it. In fact, very soon, IT Next will be starting a club for IT managers, where knowledge-sharing in the community will be promoted. Watch out for more details, or drop us a line. We will give you a buzz when the club comes to your city.

“It is fairly important to network, as it helps in getting inputs. Sharing experiences is an integral path to growth. The network will sustain you even when you reach your goal,” advises Rajiv Gerela, VP, Deutsche Bank.

Turn into a be-all person
Our survey highlighted an interesting fact that a CIO is not master of just one skill or talent, but is more of a jack-of-all. Remember, as a CIO you are expected to do things that go beyond the traditional technology role, right from business alignment of technology to dealing with vendors. So, if your eyes are set on the plum CIO assignment, then prepare yourself for all this and more.

As Arun Gupta, Group CIO at K Raheja Group, says, “You need to put some questions to yourself. Can you make presentations confidently in a management group meeting? Do people within your team and your users trust you? Can you negotiate well with a vendor or a user? Are you able to resolve conflict? Are you able to hold your head high and have a disagreement with your boss without getting beaten? If the answer to any one of these is in the negative, then start working on them before you can think of being a CIO.”

Another important factor that can ease the transition is a guru or a mentor. But, finding one can be a real tough task. Like Alok Kumar, IT Consultant at Sears Holding, puts it, “It is extremely important for every emerging leader to have a mentor who will guide and shape their career. Anyone with the dream to become a leader, will find it very difficult to translate it into reality without a mentor.”

Interestingly in our survey, a majority of respondents, both IT managers and CIOs, stated that a CEO is the best mentor for an IT manager looking to make it to the top seat. After all, it is the CEO who takes the call on whom to appoint CIO.

It should be fairly clear by now that though the life of a CIO may seem akin to that of the queen in the anthill, it is anything but the same. To be a CIO, you need to be multi-talented, multi-skilled and multi-faceted. The job requirements are challenging. So, if you have the stomach for it and your heart is set on becoming one, it is time you got going. Good luck.