RSSTechnology Executive And CIO Glass Ceilings?
Kory/Ferry International, one of the well-known executive search firms, has an interesting article in Computerworld entitled, "Is There Really A Glass Ceiling For CIOs?" Probably interesting for all ambitious technology managers to reflect on. In the article (snipped a bit, ellipsis and bold added by me):
As more and more CIOs aspire to general management roles and to become
chief operating officers or CEOs, it's important to ask if there really
is a glass ceiling arresting the upward mobility of technology
executives …As executive recruiters, we at Korn/Ferry International have so far found no hard evidence of a glass ceiling for CIOs … Our research has revealed important differences, as well as
similarities, in the ways in which CIOs and CEOs approach critical
leadership issues.
Here's the some similarities and differences they found:
- CEOs and CIOs have similar leadership styles
- CIOs exhibit a more adaptive thinking style (CEOs tend to steer more than adapt)
- CIOs tend to demonstrate less tolerance for ambiguity than CEOs
- CIOs demonstrate (on average) noticeably less confidence than their CEO counterparts
Some random selections of things they say will help to further the cause of getting a CIO promoted:
- Move form cost-center to profit-center mentality
- Understand financial statements
- Bring in the money
With this as backdrop, would I conclude that there are no glass ceilings for CIOs as Korn/Ferry did? Perhaps. But unless a CIO is very proactive, the presence of the trench that CIOs are in is pretty close to a glass ceiling to me. Although its nice to talk about working on the three bullet points I've outlined above, many CIOs will have a hard time finding opportunities to really cut their teeth in these areas when they are nose deep in CIO stuff (for example, a proactive "bring in the money" angle could be tough). Perhaps getting CIOs more opportunities to work on boards would be a good step to increasing their global view.
