While studying for my PhD in history, I came across hundreds of examples of good and bad leadership. The one thing all good leaders had in common was their ability to clearly communicate and get people to take action. Each of these leaders had their own unique styles. For example, John Kennedy and Winston Churchill would use words, Napoleon and Henry VIII would use actions and Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi would use silence.
So what does all of this have to do with how CIOs and their boards of directors communicate with each other?
One of the differences between more-successful and less-successful CIOs is their ability to communicate effectively with their boards. Being able to communicate effectively with your board will help make securing organizational support for IT initiatives, such as funding and resource commitments, much easier. It also will make facilitate the achievement of IT’s strategic goals, which will benefit the entire organization if aligned properly.
Developing a common communications approach is a critical part of the CIO function.
The checklist below is a great place to start for board meetings, presentations and for an IT leader’s overall communications with their board members.
- Speak their language, not IT’s
- Keep things simple
- ABC: Always Be Contextual
- Talk about organizational benefits derived, not technology functionality and capabilities
- Present options, but be clear about which are best and why
- Don’t hide the risks
- Paint a picture of what the organization looks like after the effort
- Recap and ask for support, and if necessary, sponsorship
- Return with progress reports: good, bad, and ugly
On Thursday, September 24th at 2 p.m. (ET), I will get into more detail and provide additional insights into the best practices above. This 30 minute webinar will be open to all insurance CIOs and IT executives. Click
I would also like to invite Novarica clients who haven’t downloaded my new
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