Become a Transformational CIO

Collaborate with the business to lead transformation and leave behind a legacy of growth.

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Your Challenge

Business transformations are happening, but CIOs are often involved only when it comes time to implement change. This makes it difficult for the CIO be perceived as an organizational leader.
CIOs find it difficult to juggle operational activities, strategic initiatives, and involvement in business transformation.
CIOs don’t always have the IT organization structured and mobilized in a manner that facilitates the identification of transformation opportunities, and the planning for and the implementation of organization-wide change.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Don’t take an ad hoc approach to transformation.
You’re not in it alone.
Your legacy matters

Impact and Result

Elevate your stature as a business leader.
Empower the IT organization to act with a business mind first, and technology second.
Create a high-powered IT organization that is focused on driving lasting change, improving client experiences, and encouraging collaboration across the entire enterprise.
Generate opportunities for organizational growth, as manifested through revenue growth, profit growth, new market entry, new product development, etc.

Contributors

Warren Buck, Manager of Business Architecture & PMO, Viterra
Daniel Bursuc, Senior Manager, Rogers Communications
Alex Coleman, CIO, Saskatchewan Worker’s Compensation Board
Don Conly, Director of IT, Viterra
Eric Dirst, President, DeVry Online Services
Ken Zima, Director of IT, Aquarion Water Company
Kin Lee-Yow, VP of IT, CAA South Central Ontario
Rose Morley, Manager of Enterprise Technology Services ,Viterra
Ken Piddington, CIO and Executive Advisor, MRE Consulting
Lou Saviano, VP of Global Information Technology Services, Skillsoft
Sarah Trimble-Oliver, CIO, Cincinnati Public Schools

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See how all the steps you need to take come together, with tools and advice to help with each task on your list.

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Get to Action

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our Executive Brief to find out why you should undergo an evolution in your role as a business leader, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Are you ready to lead transformation?

Determine whether you are ready to focus your attention on evolving your role.
- Become a Transformational CIO – Phase 1: Are You Ready to Lead Transformation?
Build business partnerships

Create a plan to establish key business partnerships and position IT as a co-leader of transformation.
- Become a Transformational CIO – Phase 2: Build Business Partnerships
- Partnership Strategy Template
Develop the capability to transform

Mobilize the IT organization and prepare for the new mandate.
- Become a Transformational CIO – Phase 3: Develop the Capability to Transform
- Transformation Capability Assessment
Shift IT’s focus to the customer

Align IT with the business through a direct, concentrated focus on the customer.
Adopt a transformational approach to leadership

Determine the key behaviors necessary for transformation success and delegate effectively to make room for new responsibilities.
- Become a Transformational CIO – Phase 5: Adopt a Transformational Approach to Leadership
- Office of the CIO Template
Sustain the transformational capability

Track the key success metrics that will help you manage transformation effectively.
- Become a Transformational CIO – Phase 6: Sustain the Transformational Capability
- Transformation Dashboard

Guided Implementation

This guided implementation is an eleven call advisory process.

Guided Implementation #1 - Are you ready to lead transformation?

Call #1: Identify data collection techniques.
Call #2: Validate your decision to proceed.

Guided Implementation #2 - Build business partnerships

Call #1: Identify and prioritize potential partners.
Call #2: Create a plan to establish partnerships.

Guided Implementation #3 - Develop the capability to transform

Call #1: Define and assess capabilities.
Call #2: Address maturity gaps.

Guided Implementation #4 - Shift IT’s focus to the customer

Call #1: Discuss the ways in which your organization creates value for customers.
Call #2: Outline the different value streams and select one to focus on.

Guided Implementation #5 - Adopt a transformational approach to leadership

Call #1: Review how the IT department is progressing in terms of skill discovery.
Call #2: Discuss best practices to creating/modeling the office of the CIO function.

Guided Implementation #6 - Sustain the transformational capability

Call #1: Discuss the ways your organization is currently tracking, or could be tracking, the key transformation metrics.

Schedule Your First Call

Onsite Workshop

The Purpose

Understand stakeholder and executive perception of the CIO’s performance and leadership.
Determine whether the CIO is ready to lead transformation.

Key Benefits Achieved

Decision to evolve role or address areas of improvement as a pre-requisite to becoming a transformational CIO.

Activities:		Outputs:
1.1	Select data collection techniques.
1.2	Conduct diagnostic programs.	Select stakeholder and executive perception of the CIO
1.3	Review results and define readiness.	Decision as to whether to proceed with the role evolution

The Purpose

Identify potential business partners and create a plan to establish key partnerships.

Key Benefits Achieved

An actionable set of initiatives that will help the CIO create valuable partnerships with internal or external business stakeholders.

Activities:		Outputs:
2.1	Identify potential business partners.
2.2	Evaluate and prioritize list of potential partners.
2.3	Create a plan to establish the target partnerships.	Partnership strategy

The Purpose

Make the case and plan for the development of key capabilities that will enable the IT organization to handle transformation.

Key Benefits Achieved

A maturity assessment of critical capabilities.
A plan to address maturity gaps in preparation for a transformational mandate.

Activities:		Outputs:
3.1	Define transformation as a capability.
3.2	Assess the current and target transformation capability maturity.	Transformation capability assessment
3.3	Develop a roadmap to address gaps.	Roadmap to develop the transformation capability

The Purpose

Gain an understanding of the end customer of the organization.

Key Benefits Achieved

A change in IT mindset away from a focus on operational activities or internal customers to external customers.
A clear understanding of how the organization creates and delivers value to customers.
Opportunities for business transformation.

Activities:		Outputs:
4.1	Analyze value streams that impact the customer.	Value stream maps
4.2	Map business capabilities to value streams.	Business capability map

The Purpose

Establish a formal process for empowering employees and grooming new leaders.
Create a culture of continuous improvement and a long-term focus.

Key Benefits Achieved

Increased ability to sustain momentum that is inherent to business transformations.
Better strategic workforce planning and a clearer career path for individuals in IT.
A system to measure IT’s contribution to business transformation.

Activities:		Outputs:
5.1	Set the structure for the office of the CIO.	OCIO structure document
5.2	Assess current leadership skills and needs.
5.3	Spread a culture of self-discovery.
5.4	Maintain the transformation capability.	Transformational leadership dashboard