7 Skills for IT Leadership

I read an article in CIO Magazine: 7 Essential CIO Leadership Skills That Get Results by Thomas Wailgum regarding a recent study and book on this subject by Graham Waller of Gartner Executive Programs, and Korn/Ferry's George Hallenbeck and Karen Rubenstrunk.

The 7 Essential Skills are:

1. Commit to Leadership First
2. Lead Differently than You Think
3. Embrace Softer Side
4. Forge the Right Relationships to Drive the Right Results
5. Master Communications
6. Inspire Others
7. Build People not Systems

The #2 skill “Lead Differently than You Think” is a little vague - They mean the natural tenancy for a technical professional is to outsmart everyone and this is counter to being effective as a CIO. The interesting thing is that all these skills are related to interaction, relationships and success through others. Note that none of these 7 key skills involves technical superiority or technical vision. Clearly to be an effective CIO a broad technical understanding is necessary but these are table stakes.

Article link for CIO Magazine: 7 Essential CIO Leadership Skills That Get Results by Thomas Wailgum:

http://www.cio.com/article/626991/7_Essential_CIO_Leadership_Skills_That_Get_Results_