CIO’s Number 1 Priority, before Number 2 hits the Fan…

With Armageddon (Dec 21) coming in a couple of months, and if the ubiquitous adoption of the “cloud” was any indicator, Disaster Recovery is on everyone’s plan.  However, this is one thing that seems to have escaped most (80%) to be more precise, the selection of a Number 1.  What does Number 1 mean?  For those of you familiar with the Star Trek vernacular, Number 1 was the common reference to your second in command, the successor, in the event you are not on “the Bridge”.  Unfortunately, IT pros haven’t readily adopted that model, at least not formerly.

More than three-quarters (79%) of CIOs polled by Robert Half Technology said they haven't identified a “successor” in the event they had to stop working unexpectedly. Just 20% of the 1,400 CIOs have a successor in place, and the remaining 1% is unsure. Now, to place this in proper perspective, this shouldn’t be adopted for Disaster Recovery alone, for its good practice in general to make sure that your command has bench strength in the event of planned or unplanned absence, i.e., vacation, conference, etc...This second in command planning, benefits the CIO as well as the elected “Number 1”.  For the CIO, he basks in the benefit of loyalty from a valued resource and the ability to delegate mundane tasks, for Number 1, it’s an opportunity to embrace more responsibility and, in the event he doesn’t “Number 1” on his shoes, promotion is inevitable.

Selecting your Number 1 is not intuitive, and experts recommend not using tenure to decide this for you.  Robert Half Technology points out "Look for candidates who best display the skills necessary to excel in the role -- including both strong technical aptitude and leadership abilities -- regardless of title," the firm recommends.

Companies should take their time identifying and grooming a CIO successor, include prospective managers in strategy discussions to help them acquire planning and leadership skills, and provide ongoing feedback to protégés, the firm also recommends.

Now once chosen, “Beta Testing” is recommended, i.e., Robert Half Technology suggests taking a trial run. "A vacation is a good time to have a potential successor assumes some of your responsibilities. The employee will gain experience while you learn how prepared the person is to take on a greater role.

Source(s):

http://www.itnews.com/careers/50143/cio-succession-plans-lacking-study-finds

So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

About Rick Ricker

An IT professional with over 20 years experience in Information Security, wireless broadband, network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.

For more information, contact Rick at (800) 333-8394 x 689·