PHASE 2

Assess

Become a Strategic CIO

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Phase 2 outline
Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-
3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 2: Assess

Proposed Time to Completion (in weeks): 1 week

Step 2.1: Assess Strategic CIO Competencies
Start with an analyst kick-off call:
• Review CXO-CIO Alignment Diagnostic results.
• Discuss the Info-Tech CIO Strategic Competency
Evaluation Tool.
• Review the activities to be completed in Phase 2.
Step 2.2: Assess Business Stakeholder Relationships
Review findings with analyst:
• Review CIO competency gaps and priorities.
• Discuss the importance of power mapping executive
business stakeholders for personal development.

Then complete these activities… Then complete these activities…

• Identify and prioritize CIO competency gaps. • Evaluate the power, impact, and support of key executive
business stakeholders.

With these tools & templates: With these tools & templates:
CIO Strategic Competency Evaluation Tool CIO Stakeholder Power Map Template

Phase 2 Results & Insights:

• At the conclusion of this phase, you will have identified and prioritized your strategic CIO competency gaps and power-mapped your executive
business stakeholders.

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Step #1 Assess strategic CIO competencies

1 2

This step will walk you through the following activities: This step involves the following participants:
• 1.1 – Assess each strategic CIO competency • CIO
• 1.2 – Identify and prioritize CIO competency gaps

Outcomes of this step

• Identified and prioritized strategic CIO competency gaps

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Use Info-Tech’s CIO Strategic Competency Evaluation Tool to
determine your competency gaps
1.1 CIO Strategic Competency Evaluation Tool
After completing the Info-Tech diagnostics and key business stakeholder interviews, it is now time to assess your strategic
CIO competencies. Use Info-Tech’s CIO Strategic Competency Evaluation Tool to evaluate your current level of
effectiveness for each competency.
Open Info-Tech’s
• Use the following resources to assist with CIO Strategic Competency E
valuation Tool
evaluating your level for each strategic CIO now!
competency:
Results from CXO-CIO Alignment Program
Results from CIO Business Vision
Input gathered from one-on-one executive
stakeholder interviews
Personal opinion on each competency
• Use drop-down boxes on Tab 2 to indicate:
◦ The degree of importance of each competency
to your organization (column H)
◦ Your current level of effectiveness for each
competency (column I)

• The tool will calculate the gap between the required
strategic level and your current competency level, and
then proceed to prioritize the gaps according to the
importance of that competency to your organization.
Info-Tech Insight
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Trying to improve
too many competencies at once can be overwhelming.
Focus first on the high priority competencies that are
important to achieving success at your organization.

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Identify and prioritize your CIO competency gaps

Prioritize your capability development by examining the size of your competency gap and the
importance to your organization.

Your
competency Use this column
gap is to determine
determined which
by taking the competencies
difference should be
between your addressed first.
required and
current
competency
level.

The high priority competencies should be the focus of Your importance score is
your personal development initiatives. Once you have determined based on the level
completed the competency evaluation, proceed to evaluate of importance to your
your executive level stakeholder relationships. organization that you assigned.

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Step #2 Assess stakeholder relationships

1 2

This step will walk you through the following activities: This step involves the following participants:
• 2.1 – Evaluate the power, impact and support of key • CIO
stakeholders

Outcomes of this step

• Identified and power-mapped executive business stakeholders
• Evaluated each stakeholder in terms of power/influence, impact, and current level of support

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Identify key stakeholders that will stand to lose or win as a
result of your success or failure
Knowing and understanding your stakeholders is the essential first step in managing them. A stakeholder
is anyone that could or should have an interest in what you are trying to achieve – that stands to lose or
win as a result of your success or failure. They are worthy of serious consideration because they will
have the power either to benefit or block your progress.

Stakeholders will vary enormously by the purpose of the

initiative for which they are being evaluated. In this case, If you do not really understand
the initiatives will be the actions you take to improve
each strategic CIO competency identified in the what people are suffering with
previous exercise. and what kinds of challenges
• If you do not effectively analyze stakeholder
relationships, you may spend needless energy:
they’re facing on the business
◦ Focusing on managing those that are less critical. side, you will have a really hard
◦ Ignoring crucial influences that could either hinder or time showing value because it is
assist your success.
too easy for the business to go
• On the next slide, you will perform a stakeholder power elsewhere. IT has to show them
mapping exercise. This exercise will determine the
current power, impact, and support of your executive
that they have value and that
level business stakeholders. they care about them more than
◦ Hint: This exercise will help you develop a
any vendor ever could.
stakeholder management strategy aligned with your
personal development initiatives in Phase 3.
- Frank Neugebauer, CIO, United Educators

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Evaluate the importance and support necessary from executive
level stakeholders
2.1 CIO Stakeholder Power Map Template
Use Info-Tech’s CIO Stakeholder Power Map Template to help visualize the importance of key stakeholders and assess
your relationship with them.

1. Identify key stakeholders. Open Info-Tech’s

• Focus on C-level and executive business leaders. CIO Stakeholder Power Map
Template
2. Evaluate each stakeholder in terms of power/influence, now!
impact, and current level of support.
• Power/Influence: How much power/influence does the
stakeholder have over your position in the organization?
• Impact: How will your actions affect this stakeholder?
• Support: How strong is this stakeholder’s support for you?
3. Map each stakeholder to an area on the Stakeholder Power
Map Template based upon the level of his or her
power/influence (Low to High) and support for you (Low to
High). Use the color of the circle to distinguish the effect on
stakeholders.
4. Ask yourself whether the level of support from stakeholders
needs to change to ensure your success.
• Draw a dotted circle to show where that stakeholder needs
to be located (increased support) and an arrow with a dotted
line to signify the needed change.
• Some stakeholders might have influence over others. Draw
an arrow from one stakeholder to another to signify this
relationship.

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