Dynamic Dialogues

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IS Leadership and the LEAF

(Lead, Encounter, Act, Forge)

You have just finished another meeting with your CFO and CEO. The cost containment measures
you initiated were successful and, of course, they want more. Your next strategic planning schedule
is out and you know, as always, that demand is up and so is its complexity.
The VP of marketing was complaining about lack of access and definition of data. And by the way
time to market for changes to his marketing systems is not acceptable. The salesforce still has not
seen the new upgrades to the new sales software they wanted. Rumor is Manufacturing’s rethink of
ERP strategy needs to be dealt with and the new knowledge management system does not work as
promised. Welcome to a day in a life of a leaders in IS.

Demands of supply chain integration, both internally and externally to the global enterprise are
asking the IS Leader for different relationships, planning& governance models and
delivery/execution models. Customers are seeking closer relationships. Stakeholders are looking
for transparency.

New technologies to be installed are driving out needs for process review internally and externally.
The demand on you and your team for proactive integration is growing. You are a capable leader
and “they” want and need more leadership.

Underneath these demands there are many requirements:

.Projects to be delivered as promised

.Operational uptime to be above 99.7%
.Costs to be controlled
.Strategic planning to be more effective and integrative
. New business models to be assessed and implemented
.Customer relationships to be developed
.Management relationships to be developed and deepened
New technologies to be assessed
.Customers want more and faster
.Leadership and Succession planning processes are lagging the need

The ongoing changes are demanding:

• Leveraging different skills and competencies of yourself and your staff.
• New thinking about your leadership development and succession planning strategies
• Different approaches to customer relationship management
• Different approaches to project management and execution

Yet, the CIO and Director do not get off that easily.

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Have we noticed that technology, in the majority of cases, is not used in the Executive Office? This
too raises questions. Questions not just about technology but more importantly about relationships,
positioning and applying technology to what may be viewed as decisions that matter.

But there is more!

The cost business model for IS leaders is still relevant in discussions but less so today. We’ve done
it. We have convinced our peers and senior team that we can manage cost. We now need to focus
on transparency, governance, job creation, business process effectiveness, design, knowledge
management, and intellectual capital. If we continue to live the cost model we will commoditize
ourselves. This is a next challenge in IS Leadership

CIO is not career is over. CIO is Career Is Onward. And as a leader we know that change starts
with ourselves as role models.

Finding the teeter-totter balance of your technical and soft skills is standard in the Leadership role.
The external customer demands are asking for more and different. It is hard to see clearly on
oneself. It hard to be our own mirror, our own balanced and frank observer.

As part of that Leadership we must present, we must step back and reflect on what our potential is
to move forward. We have been so busy on the reactive cost side! Maybe we have not had the time
to Encounter new ideas and integrate them into our thinking. If we did, being great delivery
people, we would Forge a focused plan and Act and measure.

Coaching Systems
L
ead
Encoun
ter
Ac
t

Coac
h
F
orge
The L.E.A.F. system is a process that evolves over time and focuses on goals that matter to you. It
is a system that helps describe and understand the forces and interrelationships that shape behavior.
It helps you see how to grow and change more effectively and to act in tune with your larger
environment.

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OK! Change is constant! Great! So what, that’s nothing new!

What is new is how you respond to it. How you manage the need to create a new resonance And
explore new frameworks. What is new is the visibly increasing demand on yourselves as
individuals to grow while maintaining a balanced posture.

We know training courses have value. But we also know that without putting the course content to
work at the office and definitely without the feedback mechanism to show how we are doing, the
value of training drops dramatically. It’s the feedback that’s critical. This is the essence of
Coaching and the L.E.A.F.

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