Hey CIOs and CTOs…..Start Thinking Like CEOs to Take Your Company to the Next Level

Hey CIOs and CTOs…..Start Thinking Like CEOs to Take Your Company to the Next Level

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) have a significant role in overseeing a company’s growth in terms of IT. IT leaders’ key roles range from organizing workers and operations to ensuring they deliver the best regarding the organization’s goals. Also, externally, the CTO will work toward dissemination and development to bring out the best in customers and vendors.

Businesses are looking for IT enthusiasts to help them exploit data digitally and fully utilize cloud-based remote working techniques. This is due to the Covid-19 impact since 2020. That being the case, how can CIOs and CTOs make the most impact regarding the technology on software development and use?

Mark Holt, who has worked as a CTO at transport specialist Trainline for over six years, recognizes that CIOs’ and CTOs’ roles have expanded. So, the CIO and CTO battleground will continue being fought in the future.

“I’m a true believer that businesses need people who understand how it feels to offer fast work,” he says. “Some businesses need CTOs while others need CIOs. I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all for almost anything.” Added Mark Holt.

Holt implies that organizations are constantly innovating with technology. And the only way for organization workers to adapt to change is through its CIO and CTO understanding their bits and bytes. IT leaders should focus on educating workers on the changes and how to adapt quickly for better organizational operations.

So, how can IT leaders approach the situation to bring about changes? There are several ways CIOs and CTOs can implement.

Have the Knowledge to Drive Change and Maintain Status Quo

CIOs usually maintain the organization’s internal technological operations while the CTOs, develop a strategic external focus plan. So, to align the external (customers and Vendors) and the internal processes (through workers) to deliver the best for the market, the two should be in good relations. This is by using appropriate knowledge to develop customer, vendor, and employee management systems. The aim is to understand the customer pain points, select the best vendors, and mobilize the organization’s workers to deliver the best.

“I’ll speak to an architect, and I’m sure he’s brighter than me. We will discuss several architectural concepts, but if I don’t understand technology, I would just be sitting there, ‘Yeah. That’s not satisfactory for him because everything he speaks about just gets waved off since there is no challenge,” Holt says.

By this statement, Hold means that CIOs and CTOs should be tech-savvy because they are the heart of the organization since every operation has to adopt the technology.

Have Accountability in Technological Innovations

Deployment and management of technologies put the IT leaders into a new position where they are accountable for that particular technology’s Return on Investment (ROI). The CIOs and CTOs should understand what each technology investment should bring to the company. So, they should be responsible for mobilizing other workers to focus on that technological innovation and ensure it brings out the best results. Also, being able to evaluate offshore vs onshore outsourcing is critical.

Kumud Kalia, Cylance’s Chief Information and Technology Officer, advises the CIOs and CTOs to perform their respective duties without loss of enthusiasm. “When you try to perform the CIO role for as long as I have been trying, you will eventually come up with a perfect solution.” Says Kumud.

The CIOs and CTOs have roles that can change depending on factors like market demand and others. The problems will come in different manners, but an IT leader’s goal should be to push the company’s growth. So, these leaders should be flexible enough for every problem that needs to be solved.

Flexibility is the best thing contributing to a culture that drives people to do something they are proud of. Holt points out that planning is the best approach when managing and encouraging the team to deliver the best.

Mobilize the IT Department to Align With the Organization’s Objectives

It doesn’t make sense for only the CIOs and the CTOs to understand the strategic organization’s objectives. Instead, they should work with the IT department to meet the goals. According to Mary Gendron, Qualcomm’s CIO, the business should have the right capabilities for the engineers to perform. This requires a lot of thinking and participation from the IT team.

For example, when an organization needs a new software application, the higher managers will give a budget quote. The IT leaders and the whole IT department should discuss whether the budget will provide the company with the right software and point out the key challenges that the new software should address. Also, the team should choose the right software developer and partner with them to solve the company’s problems.

An IT team can achieve all the above goals through mobilization. As an IT leader, there is a need to give clear guidance to the team to ensure they deliver the best.

However, CIO Yusuf Khan says this move isn’t easy, and the IT leaders should ensure everything aligns with the organization’s goals. “Alignment within organizations is hard, and it’s the CIO and CTO’s role,” says Khan.

IT Leaders Should Be Agile

CIOs and CTOs should be speedy to act to capture competitive advantages. Secondly, they should be adaptable to internal and external changes to manage an agile IT department effectively. An IT leader should pay attention to the progress and changes. And the best thing is to ensure the whole IT team participates in giving their opinions.

Yusuf says the IT department is the heart of the organization’s growth, so they should be agile to ensure they capture all the competitive advantages. “The IT department is the standard-bearer for business software operation success. They manage, integrate, architect, and support through quick responses to capture every detail that arises,” says Yusuf.

Wrapping up

The CIO and CTO responsibilities have become broader in the modern world. The companies are taking it further by giving new descriptions of their job titles. It’s high time for these IT leaders to expand and exercise their IT knowledge to deliver the best for the companies.