7 signs you may not be a transformational CIO

These days, it’s a true badge of honor to be considered a transformational CIO. Focused on digitization and innovation and closely aligned with lines of business, some 40% of IT leaders surveyed in CIO.com’s State of the CIO Study 2024 characterize themselves as transformational, while a quarter (23%) consider themselves functional: still optimizing, modernizing, and securing existing technology infrastructure.

Almost half (49%) of IT leader respondents expect to play a more strategic role with 36% anticipating a heavy emphasis on transformational responsibilities and only 14% preparing for full immersion in functional duties, according to the study, which surveyed 875 IT leaders and 251 lines of business participants.

“By not transforming to a more current state and failing to innovate based on anticipated future needs, CIOs may be exposing their organizations to greater vulnerabilities and competitive disadvantages,” says Kate O’Neill, an executive advisor and emerging tech analyst, and author of the forthcoming book What Matters Next.

That’s not to say a CIO can’t be effective if they are functional. They can be, “especially when supported by strong IT leaders who prioritize continuous improvement of existing systems,” says Steve Taylor, executive vice president and CIO of Cenlar. With strong operational controls and up-to-date security and technology, they can drive efficiency while maintaining high performance across the organization, Taylor says.

How can you tell whether you’re a transformational CIO? There are some tell-tale signs and some that are more subtle. Here is a look at seven signs of CIOs who are not yet transformational and how they can be.

You focus primarily on day-to-day functions

One main focus area for functional CIOs is legacy systems and spending to maintain outdated technology instead of investing in new capabilities, O’Neill says.

Taylor adds that functional CIOs tend to concentrate on business-as-usual facets of IT such as system and services reliability; cost reduction and improving efficiency; risk management/ensuring the security and reliability of IT systems; and ongoing support of existing technology and tracking daily metrics.

Further, they “tend to shy away from challenging the business to adopt innovative ways to be more effective and will often accept the status quo,” Taylor says. “They avoid conversations about emerging technologies, preferring to maintain established processes.”

He adds, “This mindset stifles creativity, limits growth, and can prevent the organization from keeping pace with changing market dynamics.” This also puts the organization at risk of being vulnerable to competitors who are embracing change and seeking continuous operational improvement, Taylor says.

You’re not a visionary

Functional CIOs “often lack the vision to reimagine business models and focus too narrowly on maintaining existing systems rather than driving innovation,” says Dr. Ina Sebastian, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), and co-author of the book Future Ready: Four Pathways to Capturing Digital Value.

“These CIOs might not prioritize aligning technology investments with customer needs, creating a common framework and language for discussing and prioritizing digital strategies, or developing a clear strategy for navigating the complexities of digital transformation,” Sebastian says.

If a CIO can’t articulate a clear vision of how technology will transform the business, it is unlikely they will inspire their staff. Some CIOs are reluctant to invest in emerging technologies such as AI or machine learning, viewing them as experimental rather than tools for gaining competitive advantage.

There’s also a tendency to focus on short-term gains rather than long-term strategic goals. Another indicator is a lack of engagement with other departments to understand their needs and challenges, which can result in siloed operations and missed opportunities to foster innovation.

Functional CIOs lack velocity and may not be as responsive to market shifts, instead being somewhat delayed in responding, “but they are functioning with a serviceable team to keep the train running,” notes Scott Arnold, executive vice president and chief digital and innovation officer at Tampa General Hospital.

Unlike tech leaders pushing forward with transformational characteristics, these CIOs often do not see the value of manifesting growth and market leadership, Arnold says.

Taylor agrees, saying that automating tasks, quality controls, compliance, client interaction, and speed of delivery are what enable teams to be more efficient and reduce costs.

“Traditional CIOs will lean into the cost center concept and do things like creating chargeback/show-back models or focus on the cost of particular business processes, instead of looking at how to improve them to create business value,” says Daniel Clydesdale-Cotter, CIO of EchoStor Technologies.

You’re risk averse and don’t adapt easily to change

Functional CIOs tend to avoid calculated risks, which might seem safe in the short term but often result in the company being left behind.

They typically focus on maintaining the status quo, prioritizing stability over innovation. They avoid investing in new technologies that could disrupt existing business models. These CIOs generally operate with a mindset that views IT as a support function rather than a strategic partner, which limits their ability to drive meaningful change.

Conversely, CIOs with a digital transformation mindset embrace trying new things, learn from failures, and iterate quickly. In other words, they thrive on being innovative.

“I once worked with a CIO at a legacy company who pushed to modernize the entire organization,” recalls Panayot Kalinov, deputy head of IT at Bulgaria-based digital marketing firm Performalis. “It wasn’t easy — there was cultural resistance, outdated processes, and limited resources.”

What made the difference was the CIO’s willingness to take risks and think strategically about how technology could enhance the customer experience, says Kalinov, who is also a senior team lead at Performalis subsidiary Casino Reviews. “By implementing agile methodologies and focusing on customer-centric innovations, the company not only modernized but also became a leader in its industry.”

You don’t align strategic IT initiatives with company goals

Failing to align IT initiatives with broader business goals and future market trends is a key sign of a CIO who is not transformational, says O’Neill.

This can happen when CIOs have limited business acumen and cannot connect the dots between technology and business objectives — a major roadblock to digital transformation, says Kalinov.

“I’ve worked in organizations where the tech teams were innovating, but it wasn’t aligned with the company’s goals, so those innovations didn’t add real value,” he says.
“If you’re a CIO who does not speak the language of business, you’re going to find yourself leading tech projects that don’t make a difference to the company’s bottom line.”

True transformation can only occur when a CIO aligns IT initiatives with the goals of their organization, says Rick Johnson, chief digital officer of Marvin. “Modern technology can create new business outcomes that were not possible in the past,” he says. “A transformative CIO will create the vision for the organization to see those possibilities, but also create and execute the roadmap to realization. Traditional CIOs have left the vision to the rest of the organization, instead focusing solely on ensuring a high degree of execution.”

You’re not exploiting data

It’s all about the data. In addition to upping their presence on AI initiatives, the State of the CIO survey found that IT leaders expect to ramp up participation in efforts tied to cybersecurity (70%), data privacy and compliance (61%), and data analysis (54%).

Transformational or visionary CIOs will embrace data-driven transformation, the core tenant of any digital transformation, says Clydesdale-Cotter. “If a CIO is not focused beyond conventional IT management, they will struggle to meet decision-makers’ needs for accurate and timely information to make business-critical decisions” in areas including AI and automation. “Data should now more than ever be at the forefront of a CIO’s vision for their organization.”

CIOs must help the enterprise understand how to derive value from the vast amounts of data that most organizations generate and retain, agrees Johnson. “Advanced analytics and generative AI depend upon data, so while many leaders are intrigued by the potential of AI, a transformative CIO must not only provide the vision of what is possible but also help the organization understand what it takes to realize the vision.”

Functional CIOs take care of data warehouses and the data infrastructure and leave the curation of data and the harvesting of insights to others, Johnson says. “It is imperative that a transformative CIO understand and architect how data will create value, caring for the entire data value chain.” 

You lack communication skills and don’t engage with stakeholders

CIOs who aren’t good communicators and fail to engage regularly with stakeholders typically don’t drive real change. They also don’t encourage cross-collaboration between IT and business units.

A CIO who struggles to articulate the benefits of new technologies to other executives or business people will have a hard time getting buy-in for important projects. It’s not enough to have technical skills; they also must be able to explain the reasoning behind every decision in a way that resonates with non-technical stakeholders. Those who can’t do that often end up with a lack of support, which means key initiatives stall or never even get off the ground.

The CIO survey found that 63% of CIOs planned to work with lines of business executives more often when determining the business needs over the next 12 months.

You don’t encourage IT to experiment or help them upskill

CIOs struggle to balance strategic innovative tasks with optimization mandates. That leaves little room for upskilling. “The biggest hurdle forcing IT leaders to redirect time and energy away from strategic and innovation tasks is staffing and skills shortages, cited by 39% of IT leader respondents and much higher among those in education (71%) and government (67%),” according to the State of the CIO study.

CIOs who have continued to “keep the lights on” are now faced with an impossible challenge: Retrain an unreceptive workforce to automate their job functions or be left behind in the operational efficiency battle, says Clydesdale-Cotter. By not prioritizing continuous learning and development, IT teams will not be equipped with the skills needed to leverage new technologies effectively.

Further, when new ideas are not encouraged, IT often feels no sense of purpose or excitement. “When teams feel empowered to experiment, they’re more likely to come up with breakthrough ideas that can drive digital transformation,” says Kalinov. “Encouraging your team to take ownership of their projects and try new approaches will only strengthen your role as a transformational leader.”

How to become a transformational CIO

An innovative CIO thinks like one, says Cenlar’s Taylor, who says he looks to “hire the best talent possible who can focus on transformation, innovation, and functional operations.” Transformational CIOs are also proactive in providing a clear vision of new technologies and transformative strategies that support overall business goals, he says.

“I empower my teams to continuously look for ways to improve processes and foster a culture of creativity and solutions-oriented operations,” Taylor says. “Together, we don’t just adapt to client needs and operational trends, we lead the way with innovation.”

To become an innovative or transformational CIO, O’Neill says you need to develop a forward-looking vision that aligns with business strategy and cultivate a culture of continuous learning and experimentation within IT. It’s also important that these CIOs prioritize projects that drive business value and prepare for future challenges. They can do this by engaging with other C-suite executives to understand and shape business needs, she says. Of course, they should also be investing in emerging technologies that offer potential competitive advantages.

“By shifting from a reactive to a proactive mindset, CIOs can lead their organizations not just in catching up, but in getting ahead of the curve in our rapidly evolving digital landscape,” O’Neill says.

Tampa General’s Arnold points to the softer side of the equation. “Working hard to develop a culture of authenticity, kindness, transparency, and vulnerability is part of the recipe [of] a fortified team ready to accept ongoing transformation,” he says. An inspired team with an innovative mindset is more apt to give 100%, he adds.

CIOs should also be open to coaching and feedback to support new ideas, Arnold says. “Taking an interest in the business — rather than just the components of technology — will make ideas more effective through collaboration,” he says. “Getting out front and looking over the horizon at new solutions to solve real problems and encouraging team members to do the same is a great start.”

Transformational CIOs know how to juggle all aspects of the job and have a much stronger grasp on what the business’s superpower is, says Clydesdale-Cotter.

“To be a transformational CIO, you need to manage both traditional, keep-the-lights-on activities and lead a digital transformation that generates revenue,” he says.