Has engaging with the board become easier or harder over the past year?
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Due to the pandemic, majority of the companies are/were transforming to IT/technology companies first in order to adapt to remote work and shift to online sales and doing everything online. This put a significant importance on IT, which in many cases become the differentiator if the company will survive the pandemic. Engaging with the board become easier for most of the IT leaders
As a CIO that owned security and had to present to the board, I feel like the conversations have become harder in the sense that the landscape is getting more complex. It used to be that when I had to talk, it was about very specific topics. But with the supply chain risks you have now that you're relying on other vendors, it did get harder to make sure that they understood where the risks were and how much of that was risk we could manage and do our best to mitigate.
I would say somewhat easier because, company to company, I find that most CIOs are very “E-skilled”, which is a term I came up with a while ago. The idea that you’re “T-skilled” means your strengths are mainly technology and business. The idea that you’re “E-skilled” means you are also empathetic and entrepreneurial. That combo is making those conversations easier.
The conversations are more relevant, but I don't know if they've gotten easier or harder. I think that's a function of what's going on with the company and the quality of leadership, including the IT leadership. To some degree, I think tech literacy at the board level is more relevant now. That's the harder part, but even then, board members have responded by hiring people like me onto their board to have a technologist and it's been a good business. You now need not just a CEO and a CFO on your board, you also need a CIO or technologist. For many companies that makes the board conversations more interesting, maybe not all.
I agree. They're more interesting and I think there are more board members that are able to carry on the conversation at the next level. But overall, everything's gotten a little more complicated. Therefore, that conversation has become a little more complicated.
I would say the conversations have become more interesting. They're real conversations now.
It's a mixed bag from my experience. Whilst C19 has hit organizations alike - its a battle to get the investments approved but at the same time they wanna ensure that we mitigate the risk to an acceptable level for remote working and ensuring the workforce has the right access at the right time. So the discussions are smooth and rough at the same time.