A recent Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report found that close to half of all respondents (49 percent) said their department occasionally or frequently initiates IT projects with little or no direct involvement from IT. This is concerning, because the same report, “Driving Digital Transformation: New Skills for Leaders, New Role for the CIO,” also revealed a huge gap between the digital knowledge and skills business leaders across functions need to succeed, and what they actually have today.
In a digital era when more IT budget ownership is shifting to other business areas, CIOs have an increasing responsibility to ensure their functional counterparts know about emerging digital trends, how to use new technology, and what it can do for the company. However, according to the report, three of the top five barriers to leaning about new technology from IT leaders are that they lack the communication skills, they lack the knowledge their business peers need, and their descriptions are too technical and specific.
Download the HBR report “Driving Digital Transformation: New Skills for Leaders, New Role for the CIO” to learn what leading CIOs are doing to help their business colleagues understand which digital knowledge and skills need to reside in their function, and which they can leave to IT.
