The CIO and CEO Relationship: CIO Perspective
To ensure that technology and business are aligned, the CEO and CIO roles must work together. How are CIOs feeling about their business relationship and are these relationships changing?
One minute insights:
CIOs value the business relationship with their CEO and rate their respect, trust, communication and shared vision highly
Most CIOs are feeling aligned with their CEO on business priorities
Organizational structure challenges are a common barrier to strong CIO and CEO business relationships
CIOs are actively strengthening their CEO relationships through knowledge sharing
External events that impacted businesses over the past year have also strengthened these relationships
CIOs believe in the necessity of having a strong relationship with the CEO, and most are meeting that need
Do you have a business relationship with your CEO?*
There is a near-even split between CIOs who report directly to the CEO (55%) and those who do not (45%).
*The survey excluded respondents who do not have a relationship with the CEO, are both CIO and CEO, or do not have a formal CEO
n = 100
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “A strong CIO and CEO business relationship is essential to the success of modern organizations.”
And nearly all (98%) agree that a strong CIO and CEO relationship is essential to the success of modern organizations.
Disagree 0%, Strongly disagree 0%
n = 100
Respondents generally rated the respect, trust, communication and shared vision in their CEO relationship highly. About a third (34%) of respondents rate the respect in their CEO relationship as excellent. Shared vision shows the most room for improvement with nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents rating this aspect as strong rather than excellent and 4% saying it is poor.
How would you rate the following aspects of your business relationship with your CEO?
n = 100
[The CIO and CEO] need to function as a single entity emulating business and technology as joint flavors of a single power center.
CIOs feel aligned with CEOs on business priorities, but many feel misaligned on talent management
In which areas are you feeling aligned with your CEO?
85% of respondents feel aligned with their CEO on business priorities. More than half feel aligned on cybersecurity (61%) and IT budget (61%).
Talent management 24%, None of these 1%, Other 0%
n = 100
In which areas are you feeling misaligned with your CEO?
While 20% of respondents are not feeling misaligned with their CEO in any area, 40% are feeling misaligned on talent management. More than a quarter feel misaligned on IT budget (31%) and IT project prioritization (30%).
Cybersecurity 18%, Digital strategy 16%, Other 0%
n = 100
Our interests are aligned, with digital transformation and AI being the two topics we will concentrate on.
[The] CEO does not always share my passion about IT importance.
While many have experienced challenges, CIOs are taking an active role in improving their relationship with the CEO
More than half (53%) of respondents have experienced organizational structure issues that impeded a strong CIO and CEO business relationship. Many have also faced limited agency to make strategic decisions (45%) and a lack of clarity on business priorities (44%).
What barriers to a strong CIO and CEO business relationship have you experienced?
Personality clashes 10%, None of these 5%, Other 1%
n = 100
56% of respondents are strengthening their relationship with the CEO by educating them on the value of the digital aspects of the business, and 48% are improving their own business knowledge.
What are you doing to strengthen your relationship with your CEO?
Changing the reporting structure to become a direct report or reduce competition with other direct reports to the CEO 18%, None of these 2%, Other 0%
n = 100
This is an area where the person matters and the attitude of the person. Some relationships are unsalvageable whilst others can be worked on. It is important that they challenge each other and the relationship does not become too cozy.
CIO and CEO relationships have improved over the last year, especially due to external events impacting businesses
In the past year, most respondents’ relationship with their CEO has improved (67%) or stayed the same (28%).
Has your business relationship with your CEO changed over the past year?
42% of those whose relationships got stronger attribute this change mostly to external events impacting the business, while 37% point to digital transformation as the main catalyst.
What do you think was the most influential in causing the change in your business relationship with your CEO over the past year?
CIO can be trusted and have a strong relationship with the CEO if he is able to answer to the needs and overcome the challenges the organization is encountering. CIO must be able to bring solutions to all aspects of the organization requirements.
As a CIO if one is able to translate IT needs in business language and vice versa, he gets CEO's support, furthermore by delivering IT projects in time as per CEO's vision, the TRUST factor increases between the two.
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Respondent Breakdown
