Give Up Control to Get Control

The first instinct of an executive faced with a significant leadership challenge is often to seek and acquire as much control as possible. Control of the process. Control of the plan. Control of the resources. Perhaps all three. Some may even argue passionately that they cannot be held accountable for the outcome without this level of control.  

Control, however, can often be gained by giving it up.

My experiences in the IT arena have taught me that seeking such a high degree of control over process, plan and resources is counterproductive.  In fact, even if a CIO achieves this level of control, it will ultimately serve to undermine his or her true level of influence.  

If your objective is to optimize the results of a major project, the right play is to cede some degree of control. After all, it’s the rare CIO who has the ability to drive business change and ensure user adoption of new systems and processes.

Say an organization is about to embark on a major, multi-year, nine-figure system implementation. Obviously, the CIO will feel a high degree of personal responsibility for this project. She will probably feel personally at risk if the project falls behind schedule, goes over budget, or fails to meet the project specifications. This perceived risk will increase over time as a misalignment between her and the business unit leader grows as the project proceeds. To mitigate this risk, the CIO may demand to head up the governance process. Or to have full and final authority over the project plan. Or to have all project resources report to her. “This way, at least,” she argues,” there will be consistent direction for the project.”

Engagement Between IT and the Business

While there are certainly examples of IT projects that fail due to matters of technology, more problems arise due to matters of business engagement and all that is associated with it (process redesign, operational readiness, change acceptance, and user training, to name just a few).  

In fact, I have observed that the level of IT control over critical aspects of a project is inversely correlated with the level of business engagement on that project. IT groups are better served by focusing less on “control over the variables” and more on “engagement of the business.” A business unit leader who “owns” an IT project – who chairs the project governance committee, who manages the overall project plan, and who may even have IT resources reporting to him – is not necessarily a threat to the CIO’s autonomy.  Instead, he is a leader who feels the same level of personal accountability for the success of the endeavor as the CIO.

Put another way: who is more likely to be a trusted partner of the CIO and an engaged driver of business change? A business unit leader who is dependent on the CIO for helping him to deliver a critical business project, or one who is being delivered an IT project by a CIO who gets to decide everything?

Trade IT Control for Stakeholder Accountability

Here are some ways to trade IT control for stakeholder accountability.

1. Do you chair any project steering committees in your role as CIO? Cede that role to the business leader you need most engaged in the project.
   
   
2. Do project meetings focus most on matters of technical readiness? Push for business readiness to get more than equal time on the agenda.
   
   
3. Does the business understand the impact of system changes on their business processes before, during, and after project implementation? Appoint a senior IT leader to work with the business to identify those impacts, communicate them in language they understand, and push for the development by the business of an informed readiness plan.

While these are project-focused suggestions, this level of stakeholder engagement can and should be driven through IT’s approach to day-to-day operations, as well. A “business first” culture, if you will.

4. Is IT organized in a manner that drives business relationships, or is it technology focused? Drive a different mindset by removing the names of systems from IT titles and replacing them with the names of the areas those systems enable.
   
   
5. Do you treat the business like a customer or like a partner? Partner with the business to establish IT SLAs that look like their SLAs and that focus on the end-to-end service being delivered, not individual, technical components like servers or databases.
   
   
6. When there are service interruptions, how transparent is IT with the business areas disrupted? Openness about such potentially unpleasant topics can actually drive surprisingly positive interactions. For example, if root cause of the disruption was outdated equipment, a productive discussion about IT and the business partnering to advocate for renewal funds during the budget process might ensue.

It’s been said that we get what we give.  For matters of IT and the business, this is also true when it comes to control

Doug Myers is Vice President and CIO of Pepco Holdings, Inc.