1. Become a Transformational CIO
Collaborate with the business to lead transformation and leave behind a legacy of growth.

2. ANALYST PERSPECTIVE
Elevate your role and embrace the role of a business leader.
In a business environment that is changing more rapidly than ever before, businesses are increasingly relying on technology to create a competitive advantage. Business leaders are actively seeking innovative technological solutions to support their transformation agendas. CIOs can either take part in shaping the business transformations or take the risk of being relegated to back-office IT.
A transformational CIO is a business leader who actively approaches business peers with opportunities for transformation, and who seeks to co-lead business change. In order to step into this role, the CIO has to build the capability to transform and elevate the stature of IT.
Gopi Bheemavarapu,
Senior Manager, CIO Advisory Info-Tech Research Group

3. Our understanding of the problem
CIOs
CIOs who aspire to be CEOs
Chief innovation officers
Craft your brand as a business leader.
Identify and capitalize on growth opportunities.
Establish crucial business partnerships.
Initiate business transformation.
Navigate business transformations.
Operationally-focused CIOs
CTOs
Heads of Enterprise Architecture
IT leaders who aspire to be CIOs
Be involved in the strategic planning process for the business, not just for IT.
Acquire an understanding of how to influence the direction of business transformations.

4. Executive summary
Businesses and industries are changing faster than ever before following the lead of technology, particularly with the advent of “digital” (Karalee Close, Boston Consulting Group).
The ability to successfully transform a business has become critical to achieving growth and long-term success (Faeste et al.).
Technology is often the focus of business transformations (Harvard Red Hat Report, 2014).
Don’t take an ad hoc approach to transformation. Build the capability to identify opportunities, and plan for and implement change.
You’re not in it alone. Build business partnerships and co-lead transformation.
Your legacy matters. Strive to create a competitive and empowering environment for your team and they will help you transform the organization.
Fewer than 40% of transformations achieve the desired benefits (Isernet et al., McKinsey & Company).
Many CIOs are still not perceived as strategic business partners and are only involved to help implement change (Harvard Red Hat Report, 2014).
CIOs have traditionally not been well positioned to lead business transformations.
CIOs need to prove that they have the ability to think of the business first and technology second.
CIOs need to create partnerships with business peers to identify opportunities for growth and co-create value.
The IT organization needs to evolve to be able to plan for and implement business transformation.
The CIO needs to instill a culture of customer centricity within the IT organization to align IT and business success.
The CIO has to adopt a new leadership style: focus on developing the leaders of tomorrow and step away from operational activities.

5. Navigating a very different environment
The new business landscape is governed by frequent change, and business cycles have sped up considerably. Organizations need to adapt and react faster than before – that task gets even more complicated when one accounts for the rate of technology change.
Old Business Cycles
New Business Cycles
Frequency
New cycles come faster
Amplitude
New cycles have greater volatility

6. Business transformations are becoming more common, but the CIO rarely leads the effort
Key questions regarding the CIO as a leader of transformation:
Which of the following best represents the current role of your organization’s CIO? Which of the following CIO roles would enable the most valuable and effective technology-driven business innovation in your organization in the future?
Most valuable role
Current role
70%
57%
37%
18%
12% 6%
Runs IT function in support
of business operations
Leads business technology
transformation as company
changes
Drives technology-driven business
innovation and strategy
Adapted from: Harvard Red Hat report

7. Business Transformation
CIOs haven’t historically been perceived as very effective in identifying opportunities for and driving business change
Incremental Change
Business Transformation
Source: Naufal Khan and Johnson Sikes, McKinsey & Company

8. CIOs have a decision to make – get involved and evolve, or stagnate
This isn’t just about the CIO’s direct impact to the organization, it’s also about the legacy that the CIO will leave behind.
If a CIO is willing to jump into the foray of business leadership and actively seek out opportunities to co-lead business transformation, they will be perceived as a business leader that helps drive the organization forward, as opposed to just a technology leader.
Future of IT
1990
2000
2010
2020
Value of the IT Function
Time
IT as a Technologist
IT as a Business Transformer
Value

9. The CIO needs to take the opportunity and elevate the stature of IT as a business leader
What role does IT play? Are they the ones that you call when the Internet is broken or you need to get a projector fixed or an application doesn’t work? Or, are they the folks that you call when you’re trying to figure out a new strategic initiative for the company as a whole and you want IT at the table? Or, is IT coming to you with different business objectives that actually are substantial and are not about technology?
– Tim Crawford, DevOps (Are you a transformational CIO?)

10. Innovator – Transforms Reliable Technology Innovation
Make way for the new CIO – the one who can initiate and co-lead business change
The profile of a CIO who helps the organization transform is one who can actively identify opportunities for transformation, team up with business peers to plan and initiate the transformation, work with organizational peers to drive lasting change, and set a precedent of continuously seeking new opportunities.
Innovator – Transforms Reliable Technology Innovation
A more strategic role involves the CIO teaming with peer executives to infuse technology-powered business objectives into early strategy discussions. As a key contributing player, a strategic CIO can introduce emerging technology opportunities to which only they may be privy. They can make recommendations, and perhaps suggest new business models, to the executive team.
– Dean Samuels, Alcatel-Lucent

11. Key Elements of Transformation Leadership
Don’t tackle transformation on an ad hoc basis – plan for it and build the capability to transform
A CIO’s impact will only go as far as the IT organization can deliver on its promises, and if the CIO sits and waits for opportunities, very few will come. Establishing the capability to transform will provide the CIO with the confidence to commit to change and the ability to follow through.
Leadership style
Transformation-enabled IT
Proven operational competence
Ability to build business partnerships
Customer centricity
Measurement and adaptability
Key Elements of Transformation Leadership

12. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it
A primary reason that transformational initiatives fail is the lack of clear metrics that can guide execution and gauge success. Transformational projects typically involve many different moving parts and can span numerous years, which makes measurement a significant challenge.
Customer
Business
Employee
A transformational leader maintains these metrics at a high level while transitioning their responsibilities from operations to strategy:
IT Employee Engagement
Customer Satisfaction 1 2
Business Satisfaction with IT 3
% Operations vs. % Strategy

13. CASE STUDY Follow the journey of a transformational CIO
Industry
Source
Education
Info-Tech Research Group
Cincinnati Public Schools
CPS is a school board with 5,000 teachers and staff that is responsible for providing education to over 17,000 students. Historically, the IT department was considered a supporting branch of the organization, focused on providing tools to staff and teachers. Most projects were operational in nature and there was a constant tension on resources: staff benefit vs. student benefit.
Solution
The CIO, Sarah Trimble-Oliver, identified an opportunity to shift the mentality of IT, and in turn, other parts of the organization, to the end customer – students. She also actively sought staff and curriculum partners and created an environment that fosters innovation focused on providing better learning experiences for students.
Results
Students now benefit from an overhauled way of learning: 1-to-1 devices, distance learning, digital curriculum, and technology integrated in the classrooms. This has led to a higher rate of technology adoption across schools, better student experience, and increased competitiveness and ability to attract students.
Sarah Trimble-Oliver’s Journey
Created a customer-centric vision
Built business partnerships
Established the capability to lead business change
Adopted a leadership style focused on achieving the new vision
Created a system for continuous improvement and innovation

14. Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research
Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.
This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.
This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.

15. Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs
Guided Implementation
“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”
DIY Toolkit
“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”
Workshop
“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”
Consulting
“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”
Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

16. Become a Transformational CIO – blueprint overview
Are you ready to lead transformation?
Build business partnerships
Develop the capability to transform
Best-Practice Toolkit
1.1 Collect the necessary data.
1.2 Conduct a leadership self-assessment.
1.3 Establish your transformational CIO mandate.
2.1 Evaluate and prioritize potential partners.
2.2 Create a plan to establish business partnerships.
3.1 Assess transformational capabilities.
3.2 Plan to address maturity gaps.
Guided Implementations
Identify data collection techniques.
Validate your decision to proceed.
Identify and prioritize potential partners.
Create a plan to establish partnerships.
Define and assess capabilities.
Address maturity gaps.
Onsite Workshop
Module 1:
Determine readiness to become a transformational CIO
Module 2:
Build business partnerships
Module 3:
Establish IT’s ability to transform
Phase 1 Results:
Decision to undertake the role evolution.
Phase 2 Results:
Plan to establish business partnerships.
Phase 3 Results:
Capability assessment and plan to address gaps.

17. Become a Transformational CIO – blueprint overview continued
Shift IT’s focus to the customer
Transformational leadership
Sustain the transformation capability
Best-Practice Toolkit
4.1 Identify the value streams that support your organization’s key goals.
4.2 Map the capabilities that enable customer value creation.
5.1 Spread skill discovery throughout the IT department.
5.2 Model the office of the CIO to distribute IT leadership responsibilities and enable transformation.
6.0 Build a dashboard to help you track transformation success.
Guided Implementations
Discuss the ways in which your organization creates value for customers.
Outline the different value streams and select one to focus on.
Review how the IT department is progressing in terms of skill discovery.
Discuss best practices to creating/modeling the office of the CIO function.
Discuss the ways your organization is currently tracking, or could be tracking, the key transformation metrics.
Onsite Workshop
Module 4:
Shift IT’s focus to the customer
Module 5:
Transformation leadership and sustaining the capability
Module 6:
Phase 4 Results:
Value Stream Map
Business Capability Map
Phase 5 Results:
A model for the office of the CIO
Phase 6 Results:
A dashboard to track transformation success

18. Workshop overview
Contact your account representative or for more information.
Preparation
Workshop Day 1
Workshop Day 2
Workshop Day 3
Workshop Day 4
Activities
Determine readiness to become a transformational CIO
1.1 Select data collection techniques.
1.2 Conduct diagnostic programs.
1.3 Review results and define readiness.
Build business partnerships
2.1 Identify potential business partners.
2.2 Evaluate and prioritize list of potential partners.
2.3 Create a plan to establish the target partnerships.
Establish IT’s ability to transform
3.1 Define transformation as a capability.
3.2 Assess the current and target transformation capability maturity.
3.3 Develop a roadmap to address gaps.
Shift IT’s focus to the customer
4.1 Analyze value streams that impact the customer.
4.2 Map business capabilities to value streams.
Transformation leadership and sustaining the capability
5.1 Set the structure for the office of the CIO.
5.2 Assess current leadership skills and needs.
5.3 Spread a culture of self-discovery.
5.4 Maintain the transformation capability.
Deliverables
CIO Business Vision Diagnostic
CIO-CXO Alignment Program
Partnership strategy
Transformation capability assessment
Roadmap to developing the transformation capability
Value stream maps
Business capability map
OCIO structure document
Transformational leadership dashboard