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

Four Steps to Success

The model's four steps are define, build, lead, and change.

1. Define. The first step is defining the vision that will guide the transformation project from beginning to end. Each of the four steps in the model is critical, but it is absolutely imperative that you get this one right for the simple reason that you won't be able to succeed unless a critical mass of people can visualize the end result that you are driving to achieve. In other words, the people who carry out the transformation project must have a clear view of its objective and they must share a common understanding of why the project is important.

2. Build. The second step is building the executive team that will convert the vision into reality and deliver the expected results, on time and on budget. As the CIO, you must build an executive team that reflects your passion and your commitment to change. That probably means that you will have to rearrange your organization, bring in some new players, and move some people into different roles. Some of this will be difficult, but it is work that you need to do, because you will be relying on your executive team to accomplish the heavy lifting required to complete the project successfully.

3. Lead. The third step is creating a culture of leadership that inspires trust and confidence within the IT organization and across the enterprise. This step represents a sharp break with past practice, in which the IT organization functioned in a largely reactive ...