What defines a C-suite role in IT?
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The C-Suite is (or rather, should be…) like any team operating at any level within a high performing organisation: bound to a common set of objectives and utterly committed to deliver them; no ifs, no buts. And like all teams, team members have their roles that in-turn contribute to the whole. The CEO is no more important than the CFO, or the CIO in this regard – all cogs in a well-oiled machine.
The C-Suite exists to define and deliver the business strategy realised through a common set of business objectives; the CIO perceives these objectives through a technology lens.
The CIO is a strategic and operational enabler:
- Is a passionate advocate for the organisation’s core values
- Ensures the business strategy within his/her purview is cascaded effectively
- Creates a culture of innovation, high performance and continual improvement
- Provides clear, unequivocal technology direction and leadership (with the CTO)
- Proactively supports technology delivery through operational excellence (with the CTO)
- Is a management style chameleon, able to operate effectively at all levels
- Maintains acute awareness of industry developments without losing focus on the now
Being able to successfully speak both technical and business is key. This allows you to merge the directions of both areas and make better decisions on getting strategic alignment for the organization as a whole. As a leader, you have accountability to your technical resources as well as the business.
Gerald Reddig
I want to share the view from a CISO/CSO perspective and the role behind that title and ways to measure their success. The old saying is that the customer is always right, so pleasing them is or should be a major business objective. That is why an important strategy for the digital industry is integrating security teams and their KPIs into the overall business strategy and objectives from the outset.
This means they can build both digital products and services that meet the functional and security expectations of enterprises and their consumers. Because of this, cyber security teams in CIO or CISO organizations must expand their roles, moving from protecting their company’s operations and infrastructure to adding the value which is offered in 5G services and applications. It is important for security leaders to understand the needs of customers – as part of this process, they must move from being a “back-office function” to becoming a vital contributor in delivering extraordinary customer experiences. Board members and C-level executives want to see security metrics that clearly show the likely effects on their business goals, as well as any costs that will be incurred.
The value of security operations can be best documented in metrics such as Mean Time To Identification (MTTI), and Mean Time To Contain (MTTC) a cyber security intrusion or incident. If a CISO/CSO department has the tools to capture this information, compiling reports of successfully repelled attacks is a good way to prove value.
Being business centric: Having a business focused approach on the goals and objectives of the company, and determining how to best exploited your IT toolset, composed of you and your teams combined experience, knowledge, and skills to achieve those goals. This should be the same as your C-suite peers in other areas: Finance, Sales, Operations...etc., they are focused on the business and how to apply their expertise (Finance, Sales, Operations...etc.) to achieve business success.
You also need to constantly self evaluate that IT toolset, and have an strategy of continuous improvement. In this area you likely have to be stronger than your peers because technology changes faster than most other disciplines. You are also likely to need to be stronger in soft skills than your peers, which might be the biggest hurdle for an "IT" person. If you are internally faced you will need to work with your peers, selling them on technical solutions that will make them more efficient and effective, but likely reduce the size of their team and their budgets. If you are externally facing, you will need to do the same thing, generally speaking, with your customers.
The C-suite role in IT is one of the most difficult, and most underappreciated roles, in the organization.
As a CTO I am responsible for overseeing the development and dissemination of technology for external customers, vendors, and other clients to help improve and increase business. I should also deal with internal IT operations.