Mon, Apr 30, 2007 9:13 EDT

Advice needed!

Topic: Enterprise Management

Current Rating: Comments: 2

I need advice on the following situation.

Currently my CIO has not been served and supported properly by certain individuals. He is not fully informed such that he cannot speak to a particular subject as he should be able to. Let's just say the subject is technical and very broad. This is to maintain a certain level of anonymity in case someone else reads this post.

I am an individual that served in a higher capacity/position in my last job - I reported directly to the IT VP. I took a step back in visibility/title for this job for certain reasons. Suffice it to say, I am not in charge now of the technical area in which I work.

Let me say that I feel my CIO should be served to a much greater and more consummate capacity than that which he is being served. He is not being given technical information in a way that will make it possible for him to be not only effective in his position as CIO, but successful as well. In my professional opinion, a great deal of his success in dealing with the area of technical competence in which I work is a reflection of the level of competency he receives from those that support him in that area. This, of course, assumes that he is not a buffoon, and in this case he certainly is not.

Here are my questions:
How do I assist him, support him, offer my knowledge to him without alienating or pissing off the two layers of management between he and myself?

Is this even possible?

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Mon, Apr 30, 2007 12:19 EDT

Advice needed!

Posted by: lbrito
Rating:

Difficult question. I can provide you the HR-spiel, but will try to avoid it even though it may sound like it, at times.

I have directed IT teams before at the highest level with the IT department, although my organizations did not have the title CIO. So, my views reflect that experience.

First, the concern is valid, but are you being overly concerned? Your descriptions seem to reflect solely your own views and perceptions. Has the CIO expressed the need for support or even hinted to reach out to the team for assistance?

Second, how new is he in the organization? It may be he is sensing the ground, knowing who is who, allowing some tech issue not getting in the way. In many cases, the CIO becomes much more a strategist and business liasion between IT and the clients than a technologist. In other words, perhaps he does not need to have all the technical stuff for his discussions as you may perceive. It may be that his audience care less whether they use .Net or J2EE; SOA or middleware integrations. They may be more concerned about, for example, the pro's and con's of an open source environment vs. the alternatives.
He may simply want to reach out for more detailed technical discussions later on and with you and the team.

Finally, does your current supervisor share your concerns? If so, is he escalating it? If not, do you understand why?

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Luciano

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Mon, Apr 30, 2007 14:04 EDT

Advice needed!

Posted by: Bharat
Rating:

If I were you, I would like take a risk based approach.

It is first for you, to declare any critical issues and risk management plans. Let the risk be discussed, measured and accepted. Once you show the Cost(effort)/benefits make sure that you set an example at a macro level.

Then, let the CIO drive the same effort to be pushed from the top to get the stock of the situation.

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