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.

CIOs often have a very different concept of transparency than other executives. To CIOs, transparency often means sharing tremendous detail and volumes of data that other executives would never think to share. CIOs must compare the amount of data they share about their operations to how much other executives share, and adjust accordingly.

Once the alliance is formed, treating the minority as though they are lower in status and power will poison the partnership environment. For example, if the smaller players would be disproportionately damaged by the chargeback system, financial adjustments should be made rather than allowing the majority to design a one-size-fits-all approach that

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

By engaging stakeholders so extensively and essentially asking their permission for each move he made, Charles effectively gave away all his power to the unruly masses. CIOs must distinguish between information gathering and asking permission. Gathering a reasonable amount of input when it is needed is wise. Allowing others to make decisions democr

Sharks must avoid accidentally scaling up fear and paralyzing followers Simon is a Shark CIO in the shipping industry who is having difficulty understanding why he cannot accelerate the pace of IT change in his organization. He created a digital strategy working with the other C-level executives, gained budget resources, developed personal credibil

Remember: No one should always get everything that they want Asking for input or permission in excess equals giving away your power Lions are comfortable with control, but sometimes too comfortable Wolves calculate the risk of deliberately not doing what they are told

decided to take over business process improvement. I didn’t ask permission, and I didn’t tell anyone, I just did it and it became so. Many of my team had experience in this area from being in IT for so many years.

of the things that can interrupt the cycle of emotional blackmail is betrayal. Manipulative stakeholders will often fan the flames of urgency, and enlist the CIO by calling him an ally, a friend and a compatriot. Then, when the urgent request is fulfilled, the CIO is suddenly