Developing Your Direct Reports

I just heard from a CEO where the CIO had left somewhat unexpectedly, they were concerned, but it wasn’t a major surprise; great CIOs and CTOs are in high demand. The problem, as the CEO saw it was that none of the existing CIO’s Direct Reports were up to the job and the CEO didn’t know them very well. They were thus left with the prospect of finding a replacement externally. In today’s world, that’s likely to be a long and difficult process leaving the IT function reasonably rudderless, lacking strategic focus for a good chunk of the year.

Now, clearly, we’re all interested in progressing our careers and we will move on; the average tenure of a CIO/CTO is around 24 months. So, CEOs should be prepared for that change, but shouldn’t it also be our responsibility to make life easier for our CEOs when we decide to move on and are no longer around?

I’d like to think that most of us would want to leave a company under good terms and with the knowledge that they’re in good hands. Not always possible, but on balance, I think that would be the way we’d all prefer to leave; burning bridges can come back to haunt you in later life!

In addition, giving opportunities to direct reports should be part and parcel of our role; giving people a leg-up is a good thing. Thinking back to how I managed to gain my next rung up the leadership ladder it occasionally came through a new job, for the most part it was through promotion from within and I’ve gone back and thanked those managers for the opportunity they gave me.

We mustn’t forget this and so developing the team beneath us should be a strategic priority. Investing in people and developing their capabilities improves retention and engagement. I’ve come across some CIOs/CTOs who worry about developing their people because they might leave. Let’s face it, at some point everyone’s going to leave; not investing in them because of that chance is very short sighted and surely someone leaving to go on to a better job is a positive sign anyway!

Clearly some people “top-out” in their career and the last thing you want to do is promote people to incompetence, but for those that are interested in and have the capability to climb the greasy poll, we should support them. They are not rivals for our position, we should be pleased that they’re showing an interest in growing their skills and helping us develop a better team.

So here are five things that I usually do with my direct reports to ensure they’re set up for that next promotion or opportunity to come their way:

?? Invite them in: Where possible I invite direct reports into meetings, sessions and discussions where they can see how things happen at board level. I make sure they can see how a CIO/CTO is expected to behave and interact with other senior leaders on the board. Instead of developing a strategy alone, I invite them in to work on it with me, or at least see how the process works and how the IT strategy evolves out of the business strategy.

?? Give them responsibility: I make sure that I’m delegating properly, giving them ownership and responsibility, and encouraging them to delegate further into their teams. By taking responsibility for a project or a chunk of the strategy it gives them the opportunity to engage with the Board and CEO as outlined below in point five. I also make sure that they’re taking on aspects of leadership that may be more difficult for them to obtain, for example financial, commercial and people skills.

?? Training, training, training: There’s a chronic lack of investment in leadership training and many people mistake management as leadership. Your direct reports need to experience life as a leader and understand how that’s different from management. Finding great leadership courses for them to go on helping them become a great leader is a must.

?? External Support: A critical action by anyone who wants to grow their career is the development of external advisors, mentors, and coaches. I’ve always encouraged my direct reports to find and engage with these external experts. I also try and help find them a group of their peers with whom they can engage and through that group expand their capabilities. Being a CIO/CTO is a lonely job and developing a peer group and being there for others is an important part of growing into the role.

? Exposure to the CEO and Board: A CEO isn’t going to promote someone from within if they don’t like and trust them and can see how they have the capacity to develop into the role you currently occupy. Giving your direct reports the chance to engage with the CEO and the board will help them become acclimatised to the environment and provide them with the opportunity to start building relationships. If you can find ways that they can positively contribute to board discussions, present on topics you’ve delegated to them or engage in the wider commercial aspects of the business that’s all going to help the CEO and board get to know your team.

Finally, as we know ourselves, the CIO/CTO role really must be something that you want to do. It’s not for the faint-hearted or for those unwilling to take a risk and be prepared for the pain and heartache associated with running IT in the corporate world. It’s not for everyone, so don’t be disappointed if your direct reports aren’t that interested in grabbing your seat when you leave! However, if there are no suitable candidates in your team to succeed you, then that may be something rectify or take up with your CEO the next time you sit down with them because that knowledge will help your CEO in their own succession planning.

We are building mentor groups for Second in Commands, if you think your direct reports could benefit from a peer group meeting regularly, get in touch and we can discuss how it works in detail with you.