IT Management = Good CEO, Part 2 – Behavioral Profiles

In my last Blog I uncovered one critical skill that I believe prepares a CIO/CTO to be a capable CEO; Decision making. I was genuinely surprised at the response the blog elicited. I think the most pertinent point was made by my friend and high school classmate Steve Hammons (SVP at Essentials, LLC) who stated:

“Behavioral makeup is dramatically different from a CEO, COO and CIO, so understanding what makes them tick internally will tell us if they are ultimately successful in the job. Business skills (tech or not) aren't reliable indicators of success.”

Steve, I couldn’t agree more. I myself have used various tools like Meyers Briggs and PI (Predictive Index) to screen potential job candidates at the behavioral level. I must also admit that Steve’s assertion has me a bit conflicted so here’s my question; “Can we not change and adapt to our environment?” I started my career installing Apollo UNIX workstations at GE Aircraft Engines as a contractor for HP/Apollo (wow… there’s a throw back). As my experiences grew and morphed, so did my career. As my career grew, however, my behaviors changed or at least adapted. Where early in my career I was solely task oriented and abided by providing the highest level of detail I now find myself in an ebb and flow that constantly takes me between strategist and tactician. Each of these, from time to time, demands a different behavior profile. To do this well, or at least well enough, took time. I had to learn and understand what behaviors helped best fulfill each need. I see this type of behavior shifting in other people who exhibit high levels of drive. They learn, they change, they adapt and some become better leaders.

In the end, is this not a learned or acquired skill much like decision making? I’m not pretending to be an expert in the area of psychology or behavioral assessment (in fact, I’m not claiming to have any knowledge at all) so I think I’ll just treat this whole posting as a question. I’ll leave the answer up to those that are the experts. Here it is folks:

Is your behavioral profile set in stone or do you morph through education, experiences, relationships and desires? Can one take CTO/CIO experiences, acquire new behavioral patterns and become a good or even great CEO?

I certainly hope so! I hope this posting can generate some good debate or at least some well pointed comments. I also look forward to maybe having a cup of coffee someday with Steve and getting his expert analysis on my opinions, for that’s all they are, just opinions (sprinkled with some experiences).

In part three I’ll leave my divergent path and get back to the career skills I believe most CTO/CIOs acquire that might just make them good CEO candidates.