The Center for CIO Leadership Launches New Blog

The Center for CIO Leadership is an international, cross-industry peer community solely focused on the advancement of business competencies for technology professionals through peer insights and connections, education, and research. It provides CIOs from around the world with access to a global community of academic and practitioner experts, peer CIOs, and business leaders with a common goal of advancing the CIO profession and providing professional development.

And now it has its own brand new blog – check it out!.

Focused on advancing the CIO profession through global thought leadership, research, education, and outreach, the Center develops practical insights, sponsors a global learning community, promotes peer-to-peer mentoring, and fosters greater understanding of IT among business leaders and executive influencers. It was founded by IBM to achieve these goals as an open, collaborative network of executives and institutions from around the world. The world’s leading CIOs are actively taking a role to shape their future in this unique, collaborative community. Explore the new blog!

And then let us know what you think, in the Leave a Reply field.

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Related:

The CIO Leadership and Innovation

The CIO Innovation Lab

Connect:

• Join The Center for CIO Leadership group on LinkedIn
• Follow on Twitter
• Watch related videos on YouTube

- Posted by Regan Kelly. This post is part of our theme of Emerging Trends for the month of May, 2013.

Must Read: What Makes a Leader? One Crucial Factor

Most people in the workforce know a story (or two) about a highly intelligent, highly skilled candidate who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail. Many also can tell a story about someone with solid—but not extraordinary—intellectual ability and technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and then soared.

In other words, it can seem like identifying individuals with the right stuff to be leaders is more art than science, says author Daniel Goleman. After all, different leaders’ personal styles vary widely: some are subdued and analytical; while others spend more time promoting their agendas and themselves. Just as importantly, different situations of course call for different types of leadership.

In this classic piece from Harvard Business Review, Mr. Goleman explains that the most effective leaders are all alike, however, in one crucial way. What is it? 

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About the author:

Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist who lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Emotional Intelligence remained on The New York Times bestseller list for 18 months. The Harvard Business Review called emotional intelligence “a revolutionary, paradigm-shattering idea”. The book was named one of the 25 “Most Influential Business Management Books” by TIME Magazine. In addition, The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Accenture Insititute for Strategic Change have named Goleman among the most influential business thinkers.

IBM Executives Broadcast May 15: Creating a Smarter Workforce

Mark your calendar – don’t miss this just-added broadcast with IBM executives and influential thought leader Patrick Wright of the Darla Moore School of Business, Wednesday, May 15 at 11 a.m. EDT. (When will this take place in my time zone?)

Register now for Creating a Smarter Workforce and learn about the IBM Smarter Workforce strategy, and how a smarter workforce can help you. Details:

Register and attend!

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- Posted by Regan Kelly

Leaders: Here Are The Top 9 Things That Motivate Employees to Succeed

When you wake up in the morning, what fuels you to begin the day? Are you passionate about your work? The triggers that motivate people to achieve are unique for everyone; for some it’s money; for others, it’s wanting to make a difference, writes Glenn Llopis in Forbes.com.

Motivation has been studied for decades, and leaders often use motivational books and other tools to get employees to increase their performance or get them back on track. But if you’re a leader, it’s critical to get to know your employees, and to be specific about how you help each of them achieve their goals, desires and aspirations. To help one another and to accomplish that, you must identify those motivating factors. In this piece from Forbes.com, see the nine things that ultimately motivate employees to achieve.

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Greater IBM, what do you think of these nine motivators? Please share your own story and perspectives by commenting.

 

-Posted by Regan Kelly

How Do You Think You’re Seen by Others? You’re Probably Wrong

- from Dorie Clark, HBR.org

Author Dorie Clark

You probably think that you already know how others view you — as a skilled communicator, talented with numbers and data, or a manager who’s good at bringing out the best in her team, for example. Then again, you might be surprised.

Particularly for high-ranking leaders, it can be tough to know how you’re perceived by others. For one thing, employees who don’t want to jeopardize their own standing may be inclined to “put on a happy face”; for another, power has often been shown to distort leaders’ self-awareness.
But when it comes to your professional reputation, what matters significantly is how the world sees you. In other words, listen to what people in the outside world are telling you; they’re probably right. So how can you get the honest feedback you can use? Four ways to get the real picture.

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Greater IBM, do you intend to try any of these methods? Let us know what you find out.

 

- Posted by Regan Kelly

Leadership Rule No. 1: Epitomize Your Company Culture

The definition of company culture varies dramatically: some leaders see it as the extent to which employees are engaged, others view it as how well the company has defined–and its employees are behaving according to–core values. But however you define it, writes Paul Spiegelman in Inc.com, culture directly reflects the personality of the leader.

(Image: Ohio Leader)

In other words, as a leader, your company’s culture is only as valuable as your personal role in it. And if you take advantage of this yourself, you could see tremendous results in your business. What you need to know.

The Most Important Phrase You’ll Ever Say in a Meeting

- by Dave Kerpen, CEO, Likeable Local; NY Times Best-Selling author and keynote speaker (from LinkedIn.com)

Despite the training many of us received as children, the most important phrase you’ll ever say in a meeting isn’t “Please” or “Thank you.”

And it isn’t “How are you today?” when you’re opening the meeting or “What are the next steps?” to close it.

No, this the most important phrase you’ll ever say in a meeting.

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IBM Alumni, what do you think about this tactic? Has it worked for you? Tell us about it in the Leave a Reply box.

- Posted by Regan Kelly

Stop Waffling: Strengthen Your Language and You’ll Be More Effective

An exasperated President Harry Truman once quipped: “Give me a one-handed economist. All my economists say, ‘On the one hand, on the other!’”

Like Truman’s economists, too many in the working world hedge their statements with weak words, burying important content in the language of uncertainty. It not only clouds your message, but it also undercuts your strength, whether or not you’re leading a team: communicating clearly communicates strength.

If you’ve fallen into the bad habit of weak words, there’s good news: it’s easy to change. In this piece from Ragan’s PR Daily, learn to stop the uncertainty you might be generating: go from weak to strong by doing only this.

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Are you a strong speaker? What tips would you share with your fellow Greater IBMers?

The Promotion Challenge: How to Re-Engineer Your Relationships for Success

Want to see these? Then you’ve got some work to do.

If the new year or other recent changes have meant a new, leadership role for you, then realize this: all of your work relationships must change. The way you interact with others in the system – your former peers, new peers, your own boss – will be different from now on.

Michael Watkins in the Harvard Business Review writes that the work itself is not a problem: all of your former peers, after all, are professionals who know how to get things done. The problems can lie in the new relationships between you and others, and that’s why stepping up into a new role can be fraught with challenges.

“Because you think you know everyone and everyone thinks they know you, it’s easy to miss the fact that all your existing work relationships were shaped, in part, by the role that you previously played. The corollary is that now that you have taken a new role, those relationships must change: relationship re-engineering is therefore at the heart of meeting the promotion challenge.”

What should new leaders do to make a successful transition? Making the shift from Peer to Boss.

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Have you had to make this transition in your career? Share your tips for success with your fellow Greater IBMers in the Comments – we’d love to hear them.

Congratulations to IBM Champions 2013!

Congratulations to our IBM Champions for WebSphere 2013!  To welcome or to get in touch with these thought leaders, please contact Daphne de Flavia.

You can also visit the featured new champions’ profiles directly.

New to the IBM Champion program? The IBM Champion program recognizes innovative thought leaders in the technical community — and rewards these contributors by amplifying their voice and increasing their sphere of influence.

An IBM Champion is an IT professional, business leader, developer, or educator who influences and mentors others to help them make best use of IBM software, solutions, and services. Learn more about the IBM Champion program and the nomination process.

Want to know more? Watch this Web lecture about the IBM Champion program anytime. (Note: One-time login may be required.)