The Transformational CIO: Leadership and Innovation Strategies for IT Executives in a Rapidly Changing World

Building the Leadership Team

Ramón knew that one of his top priorities was building the executive team that would lead the transformation. But the process wasn't easy or quick.

First you really have to think hard about what you're planning to accomplish over the next three or four years. Then you read through the background files of the people already on the team. Then you sit down and meet with them individually. Some people will come across as very confident and very capable. Usually, those are the people you want to keep. With others, you can tell they've reached their level of incompetence—remember the Peter Principle? Those are the people you don't want to bring with you into the battle.

It's harder to decide about the people who fall in the middle. Those are the people you have to spend the most amount of time thinking about. Do they have the right strengths to help you? Will their weaknesses impede your efforts? Can they be coached? Can they improve?

In some instances, Ramón had to look outside the organization for the right person. For example, the IT organization already had an excellent infrastructure team. “They were probably the best I'd ever seen. I was very, very impressed,” he recalls. “But they didn't have any experience outside the company. While there was nothing wrong with that, I knew that we needed someone with global experience because we were a global organization.”

But the right person also had to be a deeply experienced leader who would command the respect ...