Fostering Innovation

1Hey, What Do You Know?

When I got my first chief information officer (CIO) gig in August 2000, I had no clue what I was doing. The skills needed to get the job—charm and charisma—differed from the skills required to do the job.

Over the past 20-plus years as CIO, chief technology officer (CTO), and now chief operation officer (COO), I have learned many lessons, practices, and techniques that I have used to foster and develop three winning IT Departments. Most of these lessons didn't come easy; several came through failure, embarrassment, and trial and error.

We all know you learn terrific lessons from failure. You need to learn from your wins as well. What worked? Why did it work? Maybe you got lucky by hiring a hotshot project manager who muscled your initiative across the finish line. Perhaps you think you're winning, but you're destroying your team morale. Don't let the failure discourage you, and don't let the wins make you cocky. Remove emotions from your performance self-assessment. This isn’t personal; it’s business. You are not defined by your last project.

Build Your Skillset

An essential parenting skill is to remember when you were your kid's age. As much as the world has changed, remembering what you did, thought, and felt in middle school and high school will make you a more empathetic parent. This concept applies directly to leadership. I started as a programmer/analyst, an old term for developer. I moved my way up to senior programmer analyst, manager, senior ...