CIOs - Build Your Personal Brand to Build Influence at the Board Level

As we discussed in an earlier post, today’s CIO’s role is more about business strategy and leadership. CIOs are investing time and effort in shaping their personal brand and raising its awareness amongst senior management and industry peers. A survey conducted by CIO.com revealed that “almost two-thirds of IT executives believe that having a strong personal brand is ‘very important’ to the IT department in achieving its broad objectives.” The research came to the conclusion that true influence comes with the CIO’s recognition by other departments and by the board of directors. In general, CIO’s do not have very strong personal branding within the company and that impacts the entire IT department, compared to marketing or sales. So how can CIOs and other technology leaders improve their influence?

A key step is to build a strong technical brand that promotes business values. This takes time but the steps outlined below certainly help:

• Knowing the board of directors. Having a background on each member is very important in order to approach the board. This means finding out what the board is focusing on, trying to relate to their priorities, and understanding a specific board member’s position on an issue.
• Keeping it brief. Avoid making complex presentations laden with technical terminology. According to a PwC report, many board members have minimal IT knowledge about their company’s technology, but the majority of those surveyed want to understand more the information related to IT. Think of yourself as a teacher and delivery clarity not clutter.
• Getting relevant information about other departments, so that you can demonstrate knowledge and interest. Insights gleaned from other departments can help you learn new communication skills. For instance, learnings from the marketing director could help you discover new ways to present and “sell” your ideas to the entire board.
• Being ready for questions. The ability to formulate correct answers using simple English is critical.

Formal interactions between the CIO and board members are not enough to build a strong relationship. The CIO must meet the board’s expectations professionally but also build strong informal relationships to help members understand the importance of the IT strategies being deployed.