Some time ago I sat with Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great, at a round table to discuss what qualities differentiate a good Chief Information Officer (CIO) from a great one. Given the task to list the most critical five differentiating traits, the group of 12 CIOs set to work. A few minutes later Jim queried the table.
The technology leaders gave their responses; good communicators, business acumen, technical proficiency, governance and the ability to align with the business, and other similar responses were listed as the key ingredients for that great CIO. Awaiting my turn, and happy to go last, I presented an alternate vew, namely that the qualities that result in a great CIO are no different than those necessary for a great CEO, CFO, COO, and so forth. Or more specifically, vision, self-awareness and the ability to meaningfully connect with people and rally an organization around a common goal is what makes great executives. Is it not obvious that the best CXOs are the best leaders? And isn't great leadership based on the same fundamental traits and principles regardless of position or role within a firm?
If you have read Good to Great you know that Jim deliberately shies away from claiming that leadership is core to moving a firm from good to great. Only Jim could tell us why that is, but I suspect that he feels the term leadership is too soft, too ambiguous to attribute to greatness. Or, perhaps it is partially a marketing move, as shelves are filled with tens of thousands of books on the topic of leadership. What I do know is that Jim and I had a spirited conversation on the topic.
As I left the discussion I bade farewell to Jim. This great author and mind shook my hand and said that he was sorry to hear that I was unable to make a subsequent discussion so he could "disagree with me some more".
In that, Jim and I were aligned.
