From Information to Innovation

According to Gartner, 15% of CEOs place responsibility for leading digital strategic change on the shoulders of the CIO. The “strategic change” part of this ideology should serve as a reminder that enabling CIOs to become more effective leaders requires that executives are invested in the overall goals of the company. This sentiment is echoed in Hospitality Technology’s annual Industry Outlook, where the editorial advisory board weighs in on objectives and predictions for the year ahead. When asked to identify important skills for technology leaders, they painted a picture of this changing landscape that CIOs must be prepared to navigate. Here are a few skills they highlighted as essential for successful technology leadership:

• Education in marketing or team members who specialize in marketing to understand and support apps, social media and software.

• Ability to properly articulate what is done within IT for the business.

• Ability to communicate in business terms rather than in technology terms.

• Be business generalists: possess both depth and breadth of understanding of all facets of the organization.

• Aligning IT strategy to corporate strategy. Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen CIO and 2017 MURTEC speaker, John Lukas believes current tech trends are forcing a major shift for leadership. A CIO’s maximum value in this new paradigm is the ability to recognize and bridge information between different departments in new ways. CIOs must recognize that in order for innovation to occur, they must step back to see the big picture and arm themselves with a 360-degree perspective of a brand.