While the pandemic did help the CIOs to gain mainstream acceptance, many organizations still hold on to their past perceptions. Therefore, CIOs must take it upon themselves to strengthen their position within the organization.

1. 4/27/22, 3:56 PM Four Steps CIOs Can Take to Strengthen Their Position within the Organization
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Four Steps CIOs Can Take to Strengthen Their
Position within the Organization
While the pandemic did help the CIOs to gain mainstream acceptance, many organizations still hold
on to their past perceptions. Therefore, CIOs must take it upon themselves to strengthen their
position within the organization.
The emergence of the pandemic finally brought forth the importance of the CIO within the
organization. Many executives turned to their IT leaders to help them run their business operations in
a virtual setting. Moreover, the advancement in technology space such as cloud computing, remote
workforces, and multiple regulatory mandates, have strengthened and uplifted the CIO role equal to
or, in some cases exceeding their counterparts in the C-suite executives. Yet, some organizations still
do not acknowledge the critical role that CIOs play in a firm; they still hold onto their old perception.
Instead of relying on their organizations to recognize their importance, CIOs themselves should take
the responsibility to strengthen their position within the organization. They should start their work by
targeting multiple business areas that were once considered off-limits or did not even exist in the
past. They should be adaptable to the current evolving enterprise landscape.
Following are a few steps CIOs can take to strengthen their position within the
organization:
Position themselves as transformational leaders
CIOs should capitalize on digital technologies to build resiliency and organizational agility. They
should strive to become the driving force to effectively scale out new technologies as well as
innovations. CIOs should position themselves as the go-to person for their C-suite executives to
accomplish their objectives. Instead of only acting as an individual that looks over the technology
project delivery and management, they should bring an outcome and value-oriented approach to the
By Vishal Muktewar - April 26, 2022

2. 4/27/22, 3:56 PM Four Steps CIOs Can Take to Strengthen Their Position within the Organization
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job. They should be proactive in their approach and strive to build an IT enterprise embedded into
front-office operations that is critical to success.
Also Read: Open-Source Technology: Four Trends for CIOs to Capitalize on
Build a tailored measurement framework
Another way for CIOs to build a practical framework is to measure their progress towards agreed-
upon business goals. They should have a clear delineation between required strategic operations and
strategic initiatives. They should collect timely measurements, monitor progress, and communicate
their achievements.
Be transparent
CIOs should show their peers what they can and cannot do with the resources at their disposal to
elevate themselves within the organization. One of the ways to get started is by providing a
presentation to their counterparts about the cyber requirements through a risk management
framework. A robust expert opinion backed up by data is a powerful tool that uplifts the status of the
CIO role.
CIOs should educate their counterparts that IT and security continuously evolve and need the support
from higher management. By building a compelling case and demonstrating a good ROI in the long-
run, CIOs can better position themselves and their teams as being an integral asset to the business
operation of the organization.
Never disregard external advice
To further strengthen the position within the organization, CIOs should actively try to build and foster
relationships outside of the organization. They should never disregard unbiased external advice when
facing a challenging situation. They allow CIOs to effectively create a roadmap. Moreover, senior
leadership within the organization is also likely to dismiss the external advice while supporting the
CIOs in their initiatives.
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Vishal Muktewar
Vishal Muktewar is a Senior Correspondent at On Dot Media. He reports news that focuses on the latest trends and innovations
happening in the B2B industry. An IT engineer by profession, Vishal has worked at Insights Success before joining Ondot. His love for
stories has driven him to take up a career in enterprise journalism. He effectively uses his knowledge of technology and flair for
writing, for crafting features, articles and interactions for technology enterprise media platforms.
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