Chief Influence Officer

CIO Magazine offers an article describing the role of CIO as chief communicator.

For the most part, the article is on track. Then, for several paragraphs, either the train went off on a spur line or stopped short of the station.

The primary sin that managers working under Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) CIO Cheryl Hannah strive to avoid is the sin of ego.

In communicating with business executives, Hannah’s well-primed team members carefully watch the faces of those they talk to. The instant anyone’s eyes glaze over the managers are encouraged to stop, regroup and recognize that the air is rife with EGO. Humour is often brought into play at this point, as the manager confesses that EGO has been allowed to take hold. Then the manager will likely start again, either trying to use better analogies to drive their points home or else questioning their audience in detail about the sort of information they want to hear or need help to understand.

“If we see the expressions on people’s faces going blank, then we know that we are not doing it right,” Hannah says. “I’m not asking [managers] to be miracle workers, but I am asking them to be more conscious of their audience and if they do see that eyes-glaze-over condition emerging, to have the confidence and the courage to stop and actually acknowledge that they’re losing their audience and see if they can regroup and do something about it.”

Now, remember, we're talking about application development. At this level, I've seldom felt the need to talk about technology. In fact, you almost always want to avoid technology conversations with business people. Why? That conversation produces few if any benefits. Unless, you enjoy watching eyes glaze over.

Most CEOs and senior managers care little about the underlying technology. They are really concerned with how technology helps the company achieve business goals.

In a 2002 KMPG survey, senior executives responded that they didn’t trust their IT department. They felt that IT professionals hide projects behind technical jargon.

I’m willing to bet that if you ran the same survey today, you’d get the same results. The problem is few technology professionals' business background is strong enough to carry a business conversation. The solution is to infuse technical staff with business knowledge and skills.

Sure, communication is a great foundation, but if you speak the language of business and move people to action, senior management will invite you to sit at the top table--and define business strategy.

Some trust in technology, and some in communication. But those who remember business and the smooth whisper of persuasion will make a difference.