Leadership Business Needs Analysis And Soft Skills

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Almost every project starts out as a business initiative, with associated financial goals, business strategies, and competitive differentiation. In order to facilitate a compelling business case for a transition toward cloud computing, it is essential to bridge the gap between the business view and the technology view.

Applications help support business processes and enable communication with many organization’s internal stakeholders, as well as with customers, partners, and suppliers. It is important to remember that, as the IT infrastructure supports these applications, budgets start with applications and IT itself often becomes an afterthought.

Typically there is a lack of alignment between the business and information technology. At the core of a business focus is the organization’s strategy, processes, and models, whereas the main subjects of focus under IT are applications, infrastructure, and architectures involved. It is essential that both sides of this proverbial coin are taken into consideration and that all relevant team members are brought to the table as an organization strives toward driving innovation through the fusion of business and IT.

Cloud computing is clearly a new way of delivering IT services and applications within an enterprise as well as to other stakeholders outside of the enterprise. In this sense, cloud computing is a new business approach or concept, not just a technology. A cloud computing architecture must be designed to address specific business needs. Therefore, it is important to understand these needs.

Therefore, in addition to the elements already discussed earlier in section Error: Reference source not found regarding the direction of change that IT departments will have to deal with (the deliver vs. align dimensions), to support the cloud computing architecture it is also important to understand value networks. Companies today are tightly connected with other companies, for instance, suppliers, channel partners, and customers. To create value, the whole network must be tightly integrated and share information, goods, and services. The critical factor with a value network is the quality and performance of the linkages. In this sense, cloud computing solutions can become mission critical and directly influences the degree of value creation.

Figure cloud computing value chain efficiency maximization

A CIO that starts asking only technical questions will fail. He needs to ask structured questions in order to reveal business needs and drivers as well as to gain deep knowledge about the business. Asking the right question will evaluate the potential value creation that a cloud computing architecture can achieve.

Asking the right question also means asking for relevant information. In today's business world, cloud computing has the opportunity to become a key driver to higher productivity, increased customer satisfaction, and reduced time to market. To understand these business drivers, CIOs must engage with executives outside of IT. For example, they must engage with managers responsible for different units, departments, or business processes such as marketing, customer service, logistics, or production.

Figure asking the right questions and the right people

Even when talking to other IT staffs, the CIO must ask questions that address strategic and operational issues in addition to technical questions. Usually responses will create a scenario that includes key business drivers and main business issues that can be addressed with a customer-oriented cloud computing architecture.

While asking questions to different people within the organization, the CIO should gather different responses not related to IT. The CIO might hear statements like "our time to market is not sufficient" or "we lose customers". These statements reveal strategic issues and give insights into how cloud computing services, if applied intelligently, can create real value for the organization; and potentially also for its customers.

The role of any CIO tends increasingly in translating business issues into solutions provided by cloud computing architecture. Thus, when an organization considers and decides to move towards cloud computing, the real challenge is organizational.

It is not that much difficult to talk about the architecture and the technology of cloud computing services. For sure they are definitely important elements of the discussion. But some of the real issues that enterprises are facing have more to do with transforming the organization. Cloud computing is clearly more than just technology. Today’s leaders have the opportunity to leverage the power of new technologies to grow revenues and improve profits.

The classical IT organizational chart is often made of silos in which network engineers, systems administrators, database specialists, and other subject matter experts are all separated. This organizational model with distinct and separate silos is not anymore possible in a cloud computing model. Those IT functions are too much interdependent and have to work together when running on top of the cloud. Therefore, it is a real concern building up the appropriate organizational structure. If an organization does not think about cloud computing from an organizational perspective, they may be able to get to a certain point, but soon or later they will most likely hit a brick wall.

Figure the IT value chain consolidation

Thus, the challenge is to break down the walls between the silos, and to pivot the IT organization so it can realize something that has never been done before.

Therefore, leadership is definitely something that is going to be essential when an enterprise decides to embraces a transition to the cloud. Therefore, first and foremost, it is crucial to assign to the head of the project someone with the passion to drive a real transformation. The point is that if you can get all the people moving in the same direction, you can do some amazing things.

Figure leading change - how leaders successfully transform business [1] 

This leads us to consider the role, or more especially the type of CIO that would most likely fit as a leader to drive change and innovation across the organization. The CIO has a main role and needs to be addressed consciously. All CIOs are not the same; they have different interests and motivations. But generally, we can distinguish operational-, business-, and innovation-focused CIOs with different degrees of business knowledge and strategic thinking.

When looking only at these stereotypes, it might appear that an operational CIO is a strong force in running things but will find it most difficult to engage in this type of discussion.

The two typical perspectives are the traditional CIO, and the transformational CIO. The Table traditional vs. transformational CIOs illustrates some of the differences between those two different perspectives and approaches to IT leadership.

Traditional CIO worries most likely about:

Transformational CIO worries most likely about:

Security

Speed to market

Cost reduction

Business continuity

Service levels

Customer satisfaction

Minimizing risk

Managing risks

Processes

Results

Table traditional vs. transformational CIOs

It is obvious that in real life, the two approaches are not fully split up and there should always be a mixed of both somehow. Nevertheless, generally transformational CIOs are likely to lead in a more successful manner a transition to cloud computing.

Typically, for instance when it comes to consider the critical security aspect related to cloud computing, the traditional-style CIO would most likely see it as a barrier. While on the contrary, a transformational CIO would look at it as an item on his due-diligence checklist.

Research also shows that transformational leaders are more satisfying to work for, are more likely to be promoted, reduce burnout and stress; but more importantly to consider when intending to undertake a transition to cloud computing solutions or services, the transformational style should allow to develop followers to higher levels of individual and group performance, receive higher levels of volunteer effort from them, and produce more innovative ideas and products.

To position cloud computing architecture, it becomes important to address non-IT executives and show value creation potential outside of IT but in the core processes of an organization. To be successful, it is a need to understand the different mindsets of IT versus non-IT managers.

IT managers are basically interested in "keeping the lights on" and allocate budgets to maintain the existing infrastructure. Investments will be made for the necessary replacement of mission critical equipment and applications. IT managers usually have grown up in IT and are not always involved in strategic corporate development, which is why a strategic and holistic business view is often missing within the IT department.

Non-IT executives are responsible for various business processes, but they usually have a limited understanding of IT and its capabilities. They allocate budgets to achieve particular strategic or operational goals and are measured based on various business key performance indicators (KPIs). Most likely, they consider IT to be a cost center and a necessary burden rather than a strategic cornerstone and business facilitator.

Deploying, or relying on a cloud computing architecture can impact on many part of an organization according to the departments along the value chain that have been identified, as well as their executives that it will be needed to involve.

An enterprise that wants to make an appropriate decision about a cloud computing architecture should nominate different formal roles-managers and experts and build an informal buying center. Typically, a manager can have six informal roles within the decision-making process: initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, end-user, and gatekeeper. Knowing these informal roles will help CIOs to address individual needs and concerns appropriately.

Knowledge of decision drivers of different functions in the "CIO's buying center" will enable him to defuse potential objections appropriately and to increase the chance of engaging the project. Once the formal role are identified, as well as the informal buying center role of each member of the decision-making unit, the CIO can focus on business drivers and business objectives that help identify customer motive and objection.

 

IT

Operation

Finance

Marketing

Service

…

Initiator

X

 

 

 

 

 

Decider

X

 

X

 

 

 

Buyer

 

 

X

 

 

 

Influencer

 

X

X

X

X

X

Gatekeeper

X

 

 

 

 

 

End user

 

X

X

X

X

X

Figure example of identification of buying center roles

With the knowledge of a customer's value chain and core processes, the involved executives, their particular business drivers, and their focus and priorities, the CIO and its IT department are well prepared to address the buying center individually and appropriately. One aspect all non-IT executives have in common is that they do not speak "IT." So the CIO must learn the language these executives use on a daily basis, the language of business. In the end, it is a matter of translation; the technical capabilities of cloud computing architecture must be translated into business value for various executives.

The main challenge while positioning a cloud computing architecture is the different, sometimes contrary, focus of a business executive versus IT management. To show the full value creation potential of cloud computing within an organization, it is crucial to link IT and business tightly together and turn IT into a business facilitator.

It is becoming more evident that success in the role of CIO cannot be attained with a technical skill set only. Technical skills are being recognized as one of the minimal requirements for a CIO. The need for excellent interpersonal, or soft skills, are necessary requisites for success.

So, simply to meet the criteria of a transformational CIO may well not be quite enough. This person should ideally also have the faculties to motivate and get followers involved in envisioning attractive future state, as well as arouse team spirit. It should demonstrate commitment to goals and shared vision, and clearly be someone who shows interest in collaborating with peers. It implies obviously to find someone with stamina and energy, social skills, and most of all excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Credibility and a position based on charisma are also elements part of the currency this champion should have into the organization. With tons of credibility, it is possible to do big things. Being a smart negotiator will also be a crucial asset; it requires being tough, creative (able to create value, and capture value) and fair (must be a reliable partner). Additionally, if this person can be international in terms of speaking and culture, that might be a precious complementary asset.

All those faculties and criteria are key components of the successful leadership toolbox. They are obviously not inherent characteristics exclusively required for a transition to cloud computing services or solutions; however, due to the siled structure previously explained, it is of great importance.

A Lull in the War for Talent?

The issue related to cloud-related positions fulfillment and the actual efforts required by companies to find and engage talents, capable and certified people is definitely an actual theme.

But at the same time, given the opportunities that are offered by the technology of cloud computing, then the problem of the war for talent can be seen from a different perspective in the future. Indeed, it is conceivable that the cloud computing technology itself allows a lull in the war for talent, due to its many possible practical applications.

The basis of this theory is that cloud computing has the ability to expand the talent pool, for many businesses (and not only for cloud-related IT occupations), on a global scale and not just as national, regional or local. This widening of the talent reservoir could emerge along with a phenomenon that might be called the globalization of the virtual work.

The today's extraordinary connectivity era is tremendously transforming work. Soon, about five billion people will use some kind of portable and mobile device to gain access to a myriad of information, access to knowledge, to teach and to learn from each other; presumably through some sort of cloud computing platform.

Some, wherever they happen to be born, will have the intelligence and will want to make something of this extraordinary opportunity. They will then want to be members of the global talent pool, and will also perhaps try to move abroad in creative, inspiring and dynamic cities. In doing so, this huge number of talented people will contest increasingly with each other on the global labour market place.

The West still holds for now a leadership position in education of its population, but this advantage could become eroded quickly, even for studies cursus required in highly skilled jobs. High-end online education platforms are developing in an impressive manner such as MIT OpenCourseWare or Open Yale, to name only these. These platforms allow a large amount of students to acquire high-level skills in a manner similar to that only the "rich privileged" had until now, and this simply requiring that they have access to the Internet cloud.

This might mean that a young Indian living in a remote village will be able to get the same experience and educational level as his contemporary that is living Zurich, London or New York. Education is one component of the work equation, the other being the work itself.

It may well be that in the near future, 5 to 10 years, even people in the most remote areas of the world will be able to have their "cloud-based office" that is going to deliver them all the required functions in terms of collaboration and communication to be fully able to work online on projects.

So, whether they will be in Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, or India, the health of the local economy where individuals will be living will not be inexorably a barrier to the aptitude of these people to find work, as this globalized virtual market is going to eclipse the boundaries of local economies.

Already today, platforms such as 99Desk, VirtualEmployee.com, oDesk and others, have been created and deliver the capability to connect buyers of expert skills with suppliers of these skills. These virtual digital platforms running on top of cloud computing technologies are offering access to a bunch of professionals from all around the world, that have high-end skills in areas like programming, web design, sale, translation and management; and these platforms are allowing them to work together remotely, with speed and accuracy. Ultimately, knowledge is becoming and being power.

This global talent reservoir, with hybrid linkages in terms of cultures and societal belonging, could well build up the required global workforce of tomorrow, and foster the adoption of new management styles by taking into account different cultural sensitivities and social networks.

If this theory proves to be correct in the future with a broad democratization of such a provisioning style for skills and resources, then the "traditional funnel vision" often seen in human resources departments with regards to recruitment and deployment of resources, as well as skills prospection, will transform itself as it will offer the possibility to broaden beyond the national or regional boundaries.