Tag Archives: C-Suite

News

Rise of the rockstar CIO: How CIOs can drive business transformation for today and tomorrow

As the new rockstars of the business, CIOs are increasingly taking their well-earned place on center stage, I.e.at the board room top table, to offer their advice and expertise to steer transformation. But what’s the secret to their stardom? Transparency plays an increasing role in enabling CIOs to rise to the upper echelons, to engage leadership and generate buy-in from the board when it comes to driving business change. The virtue of this transparency is that CIOs are then agile enough to establish a clear steering model with an accurate understanding of cost, value and optimisation potential, allowing for investment decisions that deliver returns for the business. CIOs can become the rockstars of the business world through sharing their direction and vision via this transparency to take the business on a transformative journey. Indeed, it is excellent leverage for them to be able to save or shift costs around for the purposes that matter the most.

A comprehensive IT Financial Management (ITFM) solution can assist CIOs and businesses with achieving the necessary level of transparency to enable accurate and growth-promoting decision-making. Now more than ever, CIOs need to articulate the value of IT and power business transformation in order keep their fans, i.e. leadership on board to achieve and maintain rockstar status within their organization.

IT at the heart of business decision-making

Over the past couple of years, technology and IT leadership have stood front and center. Now, with companies settled into new business models and new ways of working, IT organizations have moved into a governance phase. IT leaders are actively making operational excellence a priority and working to ensure the fast-paced cycle of digital investments made over the course of the pandemic is delivering on business outcomes for the future. Almost, three quarters (74%) of CIOs agree that the CIO role was elevated due to the pandemic and 78% of their line of business (LOB) counterparts agree.

The latest digital transformation initiatives and demands of today’s customer expectations have completely changed c-suite dynamics, which means CIOs and CFOs need to work collaboratively. As businesses evolve with digital at their core, CIOs will need to adapt just as rockstars rebrand to ensure they can deliver fully to meet consumer demands – and they need to do so quickly. Rising costs and greater demands with fewer resources are encouraging businesses to review their IT investments and identify opportunities to lower and control their IT spending – without impacting services delivered to their customers. Whilst there is continual pressure on a rockstar to go on tour or release a new album, the same applies to CIOs, who must invest in new technologies to meet changing business needs and maintain a competitive advantage, business leaders need to prioritize spend in ITFM so that they can gain accurate insight into technology budgets and forecasted expenses.

Gartner predicts thar by 2024, 70% of CIOs will have a dedicated ITFM system or tool to help clarify and analyze total IT spend. With the right ITFM platform implemented, there is a low probability of people reverting back to manually inputting data into Excel. However, due to the manual nature of spreadsheets these pose a risk to data integrity and therefore should be avoided. Spreadsheets not only carry the risk of human mistakes, but they are also impossible to keep up to date at all times.

The biggest CIO challenge: Innovation versus efficiency

IT is undoubtedly a crucial enabler of innovation, which in turn plays an important role in growth and emerging business opportunities. But IT also remains a major cost – at a time where cost pressure is already high on the CIO agenda. For many, improving cost efficiencies can have a direct and positive impact on innovation but how do CIOs achieve the right balance between keeping the ‘lights on’ and innovation just as any rockstar needs to keep their existing fans happy whilst also enticing new audiences?

Cloud is one area of innovation that holds huge potential for businesses as it can offer significant cost savings if used effectively. Whilst many financial institutions already use cloud-based software for business processes such as CRM, HR and financial accounting, the opportunity for cloud within core activities such as consumer payments, credit scoring, statements and billing is endless. There is expected to be a significant increase in the number of organizations adopting cloud to promote innovation with global spending on public cloud services expected to come close to $500 billion this year.

Unleashing the power of the CIO

Now more than ever, CIOs have greater responsibility and accountability to their organizations. As businesses increasingly become digital, corporate leaders are beginning to realize that technology expertise is a powerful asset to their business. They no longer view IT as a maintenance and support function, but as a valuable asset helping business leaders to manage their enterprise with increased accuracy and visibility across various departments and multiple projects.

Technology spending is an expense that typically represents a significant portion of company expenditure, yet most organizations have minimal visibility into how IT is linked to the business strategy and return on investment. ITFM solutions give CIOs and other executives a way to identify and manage the cost, quality and value of the technology services operating across an organization. In order to achieve and maintain the rockstar status, CIOs need to utilize their expertise and embrace a holistic view of the business to lead their band, i.e. the organisation, to future success.

Business

The C-Suite Innovation Club launched to help mid-sized businesses thrive

New space for the C-suite to network and share insight into an all-too-often forgotten space in the market

A new networking and innovation platform for C-Suite and IT leaders of mid-to-large sized enterprises has been launched by the CEO and founder of a leading managed-IT company. The platform will be used by its members to share advice and insight on how the mid-market can navigate today’s greatest challenges and use technology to scale effectively.

The C-Suite Innovation Club is available through invitation or application – and only to individuals who identify as C-Suite, as well as IT leaders, and will provide an opportunity for both online and in-person discussion and resource-sharing.

Tarek Meliti, Interim Chair, commented: “The past few years have been without the hardest for many in business. Leadership – from the IT department through to finance– have lost vital insight as many of the traditional routes to gaining knowledge have either withered on the vine, or simply seized up. We believe that the power of experience and insight is one of the most important learning tools business leaders can turn to.

“IT teams, the businesses that rely on them, as well as the strategists that define their direction, have faced a myriad of problems over the last few years. Covid-19 and hybrid working have both supercharged the rate in which private and public organisations have had to digitally transform, and economic turbulence has made scaling a vital yet unpredictable undertaking.”

Tarek Meliti, the CEO of TDM Group, identified the deficiency in the market and bought together a number of his peers to form the group.

“I felt that the one market so often overlooked is what I would define as the mid-market, those businesses with 100 to 1,000 employees, often owner-run and founded. As with many businesses in this bracket, the question of who to turn to for advice and guidance is often blurred. For many business owners the solution is to turn to colleagues through networking and other such face-to-face forums.

“With the pandemic looking like it is evolving into an endemic, my peers and I felt the time was right to launch the C-Suite Innovation Club for business leaders to come and share ideas and experiences, as well as looking for help and guidance from those who have been through a particular experience themselves,” added Meliti.

The Club itself will only be available to the most dynamic of mid-to-large scale organisations and registration or invitation is via LinkedIn, providing the ideal online platform to meet and network.

“The aim has always been to create a space for continuous innovation and collaboration – and we soon hope to do this both in-person at networking events as well as on LinkedIn. This is firmly a members led organisation so we will be looking for active members who can form part of a management board, as well as make recommendations for events and speakers,” concluded Meliti.

The Club, as well as the details on how to apply for membership, can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7407369/

Business

The C-Suite Innovation Club launched to help mid-sized businesses thrive

New space for the C-suite to network and share insight into an all-too-often forgotten space in the market

A new networking and innovation platform for C-Suite and IT leaders of mid-to-large sized enterprises has been launched by the CEO and founder of a leading managed-IT company. The platform will be used by its members to share advice and insight on how the mid-market can navigate today’s greatest challenges and use technology to scale effectively.

The C-Suite Innovation Club is available through invitation or application – and only to individuals who identify as C-Suite, as well as IT leaders, and will provide an opportunity for both online and in-person discussion and resource-sharing.

Tarek Meliti, Interim Chair, commented: “The past few years have been without the hardest for many in business. Leadership – from the IT department through to finance– have lost vital insight as many of the traditional routes to gaining knowledge have either withered on the vine, or simply seized up. We believe that the power of experience and insight is one of the most important learning tools business leaders can turn to.

“IT teams, the businesses that rely on them, as well as the strategists that define their direction, have faced a myriad of problems over the last few years. Covid-19 and hybrid working have both supercharged the rate in which private and public organisations have had to digitally transform, and economic turbulence has made scaling a vital yet unpredictable undertaking.”

Tarek Meliti, the CEO of TDM Group, identified the deficiency in the market and bought together a number of his peers to form the group.

“I felt that the one market so often overlooked is what I would define as the mid-market, those businesses with 100 to 1,000 employees, often owner-run and founded. As with many businesses in this bracket, the question of who to turn to for advice and guidance is often blurred. For many business owners the solution is to turn to colleagues through networking and other such face-to-face forums.

“With the pandemic looking like it is evolving into an endemic, my peers and I felt the time was right to launch the C-Suite Innovation Club for business leaders to come and share ideas and experiences, as well as looking for help and guidance from those who have been through a particular experience themselves,” added Meliti.

The Club itself will only be available to the most dynamic of mid-to-large scale organisations and registration or invitation is via LinkedIn, providing the ideal online platform to meet and network.

“The aim has always been to create a space for continuous innovation and collaboration – and we soon hope to do this both in-person at networking events as well as on LinkedIn. This is firmly a members led organisation so we will be looking for active members who can form part of a management board, as well as make recommendations for events and speakers,” concluded Meliti.

The Club, as well as the details on how to apply for membership, can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7407369/

News

Lead by example: Demand for ‘Inclusive Leadership’ coaching increases

Demand for ‘inclusive leadership’ coaching have increased, with 27% of executives citing it as an area for improvement

Inclusive leadership is climbing the business agenda and is now the most requested management coaching topic, according to the latest feedback figures from Talking Talent, a specialist coaching consultancy. While more than a quarter (27%) of business executives have requested more coaching on being an ‘inclusive leader’ there is still significant strides to be made to tackle diversity, equity, and inclusion issues within business.

Creating a truly inclusive workforce is one of the greatest challenges for leaders, and research from Gartner indicates that only 40% of employees agree that their manager fosters an inclusive environment. The behaviours shown by those at the top of a business filter through to the rest of the organisation, so it is essential that leaders give diversity, equity and inclusion due attention.

Chris Parke, CEO at Talking Talent, says, “Recognising and embracing employee differences continues to be a challenge within organisations. Not because people are negative or consciously biased, but because they are operating within their own cultural norms and are not necessarily aware that their own inherent thinking and perspectives influence their actions in ways that could be seen as exclusive. Those who have requested inclusive leadership coaching have taken an essential step, examined the state of inclusion around them and identified a problem, which is, of course, the first step in ‘solving’ the problem.”

Following the monumental events of 2020, where diversity, equity, and inclusion was cemented as a board level agenda item, Google searches for guidance on ‘inclusive leadership’ peaked throughout the year. Search queries of ‘diversity in business’ were up a huge 170% and demonstrates how pressing the need for coaching is. Inclusive leadership coaching aims to explore unique challenges for each business so that holistic and realistic solutions can be applied and will then affect the whole workforce.

Parke, adds, “Attitudes towards leadership are slowly evolving and 20 years ago it would have been a struggle to convince leaders to undergo this type of coaching. For me, looking inward and identifying areas for improvement is the mark of a true leader. While there is still a lot of progress to be made, it is encouraging that inclusive behaviours are now more essential within leadership.”

Inclusive leadership coaching has been conducting with a range of Talking Talent clients, after the sessions, a spokesperson from Mondi said, “I can implement these new leadership techniques in my own meetings, and I know how to be less passively inclusive. I also know to work on my own self-awareness and actively ask for feedback.”

A spokesperson from Siemens added, “The inclusive leadership awareness session left us with a lot of insights and thought-provoking moments. Further, it has strengthened our resolve to (a) reflect more intensively upon our actions (b) role model the desired behaviours and (c) keep moving forward with our aspiration of not just accepting & valuing inclusion but also actively combating exclusion.”

The ongoing effects of lockdown and events of 2020 highlighted the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion in business more than ever before. Terms such as ‘allyship’ and ‘unconscious bias’ were entering discussions in and out of the boardroom. Allyship in particular was a breakout query, with Google searches of ‘allyship meaning’ increasing by more than 5000%. Some organisations rushed to support causes, and with little inside understanding, the statements backfired. Being an inclusive workplace means being representative of the wider population which can reduce the risk of inaccurately representing experiences.

Parke concludes, “The water-cooler, or rather the video call catchup, moments of 2020 were about issues way beyond television and the weather. Instead, many were looking at our own behaviours and how they may impact those around us. From there we also looked at our places of work and the part leaders have to play in creating a place where people can openly call out exclusive behaviours and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. Conscious inclusion is about developing your culture through purposeful and intentional actions to support and uplift others, acting consciously and conscientiously to create real and lasting change, naturally this type of workplace is spearheaded by an inclusive leader.”