Peer-Driven Insights

New to Role

Active Ambassadors in This Topic

James Hooley

Takeda

Healthcare and Biotech, 10k+

Nihar Malali

National Life Group

Insurance (except health), 1k - 5k

Smita Carneiro

Eli Lilly

Healthcare and Biotech, 10k+

View All Community Ambassadors

Community Posts

Have you been in situations in a new company or role, where you needed to assess the current technical debt, but did not want to appear to be critical of your predecessor? How did you navigate this?

Read More Comments

How can new executives succeed when replacing a beloved leader?

Read More Comments

What is the single most crucial action that you believe a CIO should take during their first 90 days in a new role?

Read More Comments

I'm curious to hear about your experiences with onboarding as you've moved into new roles or joined new companies. A smooth onboarding process can make a world of difference in how quickly we settle into our new responsibilities and feel like part of the team.

How would you rate your onboarding experience at your most recent role or when you last joined a new company?

Excellent - Comprehensive9%

Good - Covered the basics71%

Fair - Lacked structure7%

Poor - Limited resources11%

View Results

As a new software engineering leader, how quickly should you begin updating processes? Those of you have successfully made changes to your org’s way of working, how long did you wait before you made major changes?

Read More Comments

Senior software leaders: Have you found a way to use GenAI to help you manage people more effectively? Any tips or hacks for new leaders in the industry?

Read More Comments

Who are your first professional conversations with during the “in between” period after accepting but before starting a new CIO role? How many of these meetings are with peers at your new organization versus your existing network?

Ethics and responsible AI are principles wonderful on paper, but so hard to have in the loop especially where ROI is a major driver. How do you feel that? Are you trying to enforce a commitment for the implementation of such pillars in the AI governance? Can you please share your strategies!

Yes, it is part of my vision and mission 43%

Yes but I have difficulty to enroll in 40%

I know them but I don't believe they are a must be23%

Our business is focused on the ROI, period.13%

I am not sure, let's discuss in the comments.

View Results

For those who stepped into their first CIO role from within the organization: How did you successfully transition from peer to leader? What surprised you most?

A new contractor starts in security. The manager gives the contractor a senior job title (internal employee position) for HR and AD because the project hasn't been approved yet and doesn't tell the contractor. After orientation the manager tells the contractor to review the documents that are in the files icon within Teams. The contractor does so and a few days later when the meeting with the manager mentions an assessment report he found helpful in understanding the department and roadmaps for the next 6, 12, & 18 months. The manager is panicked as that report and the files made available to the contractor shouldn't have been as that was only for the most senior in the company. The contractor was immediately let go. Who do you think should have been fired if anyone?

The new contractor14%

The manager64%

Both19%

Other - please leave a comment3%

View Results

In your experience, what areas or initiatives have consistently proven to be effective starting points for achieving quick wins within the first 90 days of a new CIO role?

When stepping into the CIO role, how do you balance addressing your CEO’s high expectations with the reality of IT’s current constraints without risking early misalignment?

Read More Comments

Have any of you in a leadership position struggled with delegating tasks to your software team? How did you get more comfortable letting others do the work instead of doing it yourself?

Read More Comments

What advice do you have for a CIO coming into an organization where the CFO historically has viewed IT primarily as a cost center and is demonstrating more resistance to change that you anticipated during the interview process?

Read More Comments

Those of you who have held a software leadership position for a while: Do you still struggle with imposter syndrome? Can you share any stories of how you get past it?

Read More Comments

What’s the most effective way to get an in-depth understanding of an organization’s architecture when you’re new to the company?

Read More Comments