Certification Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 33) successful on a personal level with the customer, however, you have to be able to express things in understandable terms. “A CIO must have strong interpersonal skills, the ability to develop and lead a strong team, good organizational and communication skills, an understanding of oneself, an emphasis on deliverables and the ability to be flexible,” Barry said. “These are critical skills for a CIO.” In addition, CIOs must able to define those technical and communicational aspects in terms of positive results for the business — now more than ever, CIOs are expected to validate their worth and their IT team’s worth in quantifiable terms for other departments in their businesses. Because of this, IT professionals must understand and translate the correlation between the technical and business sides of the organization. One of the ways Tietz ensures his group is delivering results is by opening the lines of communication within the IT department. “First, we work very hard to understand the business,” Tietz said. “We provide a platform (an open exchange platform within the group) so there are no silos of technology. This way, we can do cross-training and cross-functional work within the department. It keeps it interesting.” Barry emphasizes CIOs’ ability to see the big picture in their business to effectively provide for it. “Analytical skills are critical for success as a CIO,” she said. “An ability to understand the business, its needs, challenges and opportunities is extremely important. An ability and desire to understand technology and how it can help the business is also crucial. “Although the CIO does not need to be a certified technical professional, an effective CIO needs to be able to understand the impact of specific technology on the business and operations.” It is not surprising, then, that because of the many skills required of the position, CIOs come from diverse technical backgrounds. CIOs were once expected to have a technical background, but as the IT role continues to develop, companies increasingly are finding their IT team members from more business-oriented backgrounds. Tietz started on the technical path. “I began my career as a mechanical engineer,” he said. “I changed careers and moved to a company that was looking for a mechanical engineer that understood electronic interfaces. I took a liking to technology and have been immersed in it ever since. In fact, I’ve been with Fellowes for 15 years and have held the CIO position for nine of them.” Tietz said he has encountered a fairly high level of diversity in networking among CIOs. “As I have met and worked with different CIOs, I have found that they have taken all sorts of paths,” he said. “Most have some kind of technical background, and there is certainly always a business component. Experience is a necessity because it means you’ve been down in the trenches, doing the work, understanding it and applying it over the December 2007 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE 33
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