The Naked CIO: Best backgrounds for CIOs?

People take charge of IT from all kinds of backgrounds and they don't need to have risen through the tech ranks to be successful. But some backgrounds are definitely better than others, says the Naked CIO.

CIOs come from all sorts of disciplines and backgrounds. Perhaps because of that diversity, people always seem intrigued to know what route you've taken. I'm often asked about my background and the path that led to my current position.

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The frequency of those questions made me wonder just what makes the best training grounds for up-and-coming CIOs and what experience or aptitudes prepare individuals best for the rigours of a career in executive IT management.

I should preface my comments by saying I'm not basing any conclusions on my own history. My analysis, if you can call it that, has been gleaned from looking at my colleagues and at those skill sets that are crucial for success.

Some people believe a CIO needs to be a jack of all trades and master of none. In some cases that may be true. In IT you need to have skills in plenty of disciplines, including project management, IT operations, application development, networking, ecommerce and compliance.

But while application development, networking and compliance are all skills that could help, they are not crucial in the development of a CIO. What is critical from a technical perspective is a fundamental understanding of project management and IT operations.

One of the key aspects for the CIO is being the face of IT in the company. To this end ensuring and understanding the principles of stable systems and functioning applications are essential.

But CIOs also need to be able to monitor and implement progressive IT and concentrate on deliverables that are on time and within budget. These are areas where CIOs sink or swim.

Clearly not all CIOs come from the IT ranks. Often they have backgrounds in finance or business operations. As much as I respect CIOs from finance I find that all too often they can't shift their focus from cost to value. That's why I don't believe individuals from finance backgrounds make the best CIOs.

But operational leaders can have a good impact on IT. They are focused on general business strategy and have a good understanding of what it takes to ensure the company meets its customer obligations.

IT occupies an unusual position in the organisation because it is the only department that can see, manage and evolve relationships between different business units at a low level.

Increasingly - especially in larger enterprises - it is very difficult to understand how changes in one area can impact another. Yet in IT the integration and application synergies often provide a view that others cannot see.

There is no single area or discipline that moulds the quintessentially successful CIO. The advice I would give is to be multi-faceted and look for opportunities to gain experience in different IT disciplines and also ensure that you have some exposure to financial analysis and management.

Based on the best CIOs I have seen, being a well-rounded, operationally aware, financially sound and methodology-driven individual is the key to being successful.