Leaders from Information Technology and executive education

Technology is moving at break-neck speed and changing the way businesses are conducted. In the core sector, hardware is making inroads into the software world with new business streams and revenue opportunities. The face of a taxi aggregator is an app. Siemens, once an industrial manufacturer is now a powerhouse of technology. And banks and financial institutions are in the process of digitizing their entire slew of products and services end to end. Technology is omnipresent to say the least.

Sub-domains and designations like ‘a data and analytics leader’, ‘an infrastructure leader’, ‘a CISO’, and ‘an AI engineer’ are no longer mere functions within organizations. They are transformative positions that come packed with strategic insights. While many legacy organizations have moved forward and embraced the need for change in their functional leadership profiles, CEO succession plans that put ‘information and technology’ centre-stage are still at their nascent stages.

Much has been said and written about the skills and competencies that CIOs and CTOs need to succeed in this new environment. While many of these are anecdotal, here is what we have from a few studies and a quantitative research:

• CIOs believe that the key to leadership is driving results and change through people
• There is a strong link between effective leadership development and overall IT leader effectiveness
• Rising IT leaders are not getting the development they need from their organizations and managers
• The secondary gaps that emerged and needed attention are:
• organizational savviness
• courage
• business acumen & analytical thinking
• commercial acumen & strategic planning

This is where the need for a well-planned and structured executive education program comes in. Through decades of interaction and feedback from corporates, the executive education industry with its insights is well poised to support organizations as they think through succession plans and executive talent. Executive MBA programs like the one from IITB-WashU have developed a proprietary approach to middle and senior executive training for professionals from the IT industry.

Our extensive curriculum takes care of all the needs gaps that need to be plugged. This is achieved through modules like organizational behaviour, communication & negotiation skills and strategic management & leadership at one end of the spectrum and through modules like data modelling & decision making, macroeconomics and competitive strategy & industry analysis at the other. Add to that our best-in-class faculty who come with years of experience in teaching, research, consulting and the industry.

As IT leaders face increasing expectations and changing business requirements, they must determine which skills and abilities will best carry them forward and get them ready for enterprise-wide leadership positions.