CIOs feel "out of the loop"

IT leaders struggling due to lack of clarity in their roles, says research

The ability of a CIO to drive change is more important than detailed IT knowledge

Chief information officers (CIOs) feel frequently "out of the loop" on overall business plans owing to a lack of clarity in the scope of their roles, according to research carried out by the Cranfield School of Management and Deloitte.

The report, Realising Value from a CIO: Navigating the Silicon Ceiling, said that a CIO's ability to innovate, drive change, develop and expand information awareness across the business is more important than detailed IT knowledge.

But the view from the industry suggests that morale in the CIO community is falling because of negative performance in project delivery.

"I have seen CIOs transformed from an aggressive, positive bunch to being extremely timid within just a decade or so. They have been absolutely hammered by businesses, because IT has so often disappointed," said Toby Redshaw, CIO at insurance group Aviva.

"And CIOs have to take part of the blame, not only for poor execution but for poor management of expectations."

Wrangling between IT and the finance department was cited as another glaring issue by those surveyed.

"I think many companies still see information and technology from the perspective of managing costs. As a result, they tend to be handled by an IT director who reports into the chief financial officer," said Paul Cheesbrough, CIO at Telegraph Media Group. This often leads to information and technology becoming second-order issues."

Many IT leaders do not realise the value of the estate they are managing, according to David Tansley, a consulting partner at Deloitte.

"An opportunity exists now for technology to maximise the value of that data. Those that leverage the value of information will have a distinct advantage, particularly in the current economic climate," he said.

Reviews should be carried out frequently to assess business needs in information and technology, and then define the type of CIO the company needs, Tansley explained. "There is no 'one size fits all' CIO," he said.

CIOs will also need to get the balance right to succeed, according to Gary Hird, technical strategy manager at The John Lewis Partnership.

"The CIO has to balance project delivery versus innovation and strategy-setting, versus operational running of systems. It's about letting go of some of the detail, but still making sure that detail is progressed," he said.

"It's about having the vision to look a few years further ahead, and not just meeting the commitments in this year's work plans, and about always demonstrating a clear understanding of, and a well-judged response to, the pressures the organisation faces."