Wolf in Cio's Clothing

CIOs often refer to as partners. While a light-side CIO can partner with many light-side vendors, they must always factor in two variables. Once again, getting the math right matters. First, when some vendor representatives are under heavy quota pressure, they can quickly go to the dark side. Second, vendors are rarely of the same power and status

Being perceived as manipulative is problematic for CIOs and all leaders; however, actually being manipulative is a necessity. CIOs who are perceived as manipulative simply aren’t doing it right. The most skilled manipulators are viewed as helpful, empathetic and, in many cases, as charismatic leaders.

But power is not solely about performance. It is also about belief and perception. Unfortunately, too many CIOs focus on vulnerability at the expense of empowerment. This may be because IT executives view the use of power differently from their peers. This stems in part from the perception of IT as a service provider, which places the organization

a colleague rarely asks for an urgent request and the CIO has little reason to distrust them, they may take the calculated risk of proceeding with the request. Alternately, they may test each urgent request in a minor way. For example, one CIO noted that he would require anyone with an urgent request to get a signature from their manager confirming

As a result, Stephen has adopted a blended grey Wolf-like style of working with new stakeholders, best described as pragmatic optimism. The light side of him never doubts their sincerity in proposing new IT-related initiatives, or their sincerity

dealing with a false alarm. CIOs also consider themselves very logical, and some believe they are more logical than their colleagues in other departments. While this may or may not be true, confidence in one’s logic and objectivity can put us into denial about the power our emotions have over us. Urgent requests are often conveyed with powerful emo

These CIOs will have the expectation that When I do good work, others will notice. While it is arguable others should notice, if Machiavelli is correct, which he is, this is unlikely to happen. What often

An inviolable power rule is blood is always thicker than water, unless we don’t like that relative. In this case, the CEO loved his daughter and while he knew it was time to change

Both power and manipulation are important leadership tools when used separately. As Machiavelli noted, they are particularly effective when used in combination. Sometimes, manipulation alone is not enough to achieve our goals. Power when used alone can be dangerous because it creates collateral damage, the scale and impact of which is often unpredi