CIO can be a challenging position in the best of times; with recent news of mass tech and corporate layoffs, CIO job security is more important than ever. Cio.com compiled a list of seven ways that CIOs get themselves fired.
The seven behaviors to avoid:
- Being over-argumentative: While it may be tempting to push back against leadership that misunderstands an IT project or investment, CIOs need to be wary of being perceived as over-argumentative.
- Mismanagement of the IT-business relationship: If business feels that IT goals are not synergized with business goals, they will find a new CIO to align their goals.
- Project failure: CIOs take all the responsibility when major IT projects fail, and their career can be tied to the success or failure of major projects.
- Failure to invest in stable infrastructure: Executive leaders' patience with CIOs will quickly wear thin if websites and applications are unusable or keep crashing.
- Ransomware: Ransomware can put a healthcare organization out of business. Securing their system and preparing for ransomware attacks can make or break a CIO career.
- Ignoring bad managers: A bad or toxic manager can poison an IT team's cohesion. It is essential that CIOs keep tabs on the managers on their teams and ensure they are delivering results.
- Failure to promote good managers: Good managers need to be identified. A great CIO can turn a manager from a threat to their job to a protege.