I'm not sure why you think it's amazing that people in IT believe they are ready to be the next CIO.

Consider this - the IT department has for years been organized in a series of functional silos (networks, applications, systeme etc), with the norm being for people to progress through the technical ranks to a senior role.

While I agree that a broader set of skills will be required, I don't believe it's completely right to put all the emphasis on employees to go and reskill themselves. Today's savvy CIOs and business leaders will recognize the potential shortfall of business skills in the IT organization (and the adverse affect that can have) and start to implement programs in talent assessment, aquisition and mentoring.

Bottom line - don't just level with employees, rather, put in programs to help them and the business.

Some wanna-be CIO may be mentored and educated into the role, and for some it simply not an appropriate career move. It is written often about need to alignment of IT with Business, which is not a good term IMO, as the most critical skill CIO has to master. Perhaps that is a training subject for an aspiring IT professional. Perhaps we should evaluate an aspirant not on their expertise, but on their history of acquiring this expertise - their ability to learn different skills and not just technical skills.

I don't know anybody specifically educated to be a CEO. Most of the time they come from Sales or Financial, or Engineering backgrounds.

I have worked for a Fortune 100 company whose CIO was a mind numbing conglomeration of pseudo business skills gained from 5 years in college and and a smattering of technical ability thrown in to make the resime look good. The only reason that he was able to succeed was because he had a multitude of people surrounding him that were technical, had good business acumen and could make sure that he looked and smelled good before a meeting. Unfortunately, he made a lot of decisions based on what he had learned in college, not based on years of experience out in the field. That is what sets apart a good CIO from the one that just looks good and smells nice.

The best CIO I ever worked for was one that came up through the ranks. No college degree, just a bunch of certifications and 15 years in the IT industry. He was just as comfortable in the boardroom as he was in the shop, up to his elbows in network cable.

Someday I hope to be just like him.

Susan

The new generation of CIOs are already changing the paradigm of the value the role can bring.

Looking after IT's operational contribution is now hygiene (although difficult), and anyway will in time cease to be the CIO's line accountability. Meanwhile, consumers and business managers have an ever-increasing confidence in their ability to exploit technology in ways that they value. Many non-CIO executives still remain unsure of the links between IT spending and value creation. And there are signals that environmental technologies are starting to take over from information technologies as the focus for investment and innovation.

So anyone now aspiring to be a CIO will have a strategy for dealing with, and delivering new advantages from, these features of the strategic landscape in which IT sits. And to turn the role into something very different from its previous manifestations.

They'll also know that, ultimately, it's personal. As a new CIO, the role and the value it creates is whatever you and your CEO decide it will be.

Chris

CIO - The title is Chief Information Officer.
Functionally, it is more like:
Communications
Involved
Operations.

In my view, qualifications and abilities should include the ability to communicate with IT and businesses. Accentuate the values of IT and business allignment, collaboration and partnerships. IT will want to provide information delivery solutions, while business would want ROIs and cost effective TCOs,
Involved in a broad aspect of the corporations functions. Tactical and strategic enabled that will positively effect the bottom line of the corporation.
Operations means a full understanding of business information needs and IT services delivery. This allows for harmonious partnerships between IT and all lines of business. CIO is the bridge for these two citizen of the corporation.