The CIO as change leader Reprinted from CIO Magazine (Australia) May 2001
By Steve Amesbury ....continued
Remember Florida A word of caution in relation to the eventual project outcome –
don’t declare victory too early. Often
‘change’ is not really complete until it is embedded in the corporate
culture. So by all means celebrate the final implementation, or whatever event
signifies the end of the project effort – but let it be known that real
success will be measured by how well it is achieving the desired results in six
or twelve months time. Then make sure to monitor those results over that time.
There are of
course other activities, and there is no shortage of worthwhile books written on
the subject. But the basic message is that the CIO has a specific responsibility
to ensure the success of corporate IM&T projects. To this end, change
management and change leadership must form part of the toolkit.
The CIO is in a unique position, understanding the technology and the
business objectives, and being in a position senior enough to influence
executive management behavior.
Whether the
CIO brings on board specialist change managers to assist, conducts his / her own
research, or relies on previous experience will differ with each person.
The CIO has become a corporate player. It is no longer enough that the
systems work, or the hardware is reliable. Corporate projects are often massive
undertakings and cannot be viewed as separate technical, human and system
activities. The approach needs to be holistic, and the CIO needs to expand their
leadership abilities accordingly.
Steve
Amesbury is co-founder and director of Island Consulting Pty Ltd (formerly
Island Technology). He recently completed five years as director information
services at the NSW Office of State Revenue. During that time, Amesbury was on
several government committees responsible for developing standards, and was a
well-known proponent for change in state government (IM&T) forums.