Managing the Toughest Transition: Part One

Abstract

The challenge for IT leaders is that they and their colleagues are under increasing pressure to help produce quantifiable business results. the recent downturn in IT spending is in part a result of the perception among CEOs and other C-level executives that investments in IT have not resulted in expected bottom-line improvements. This is ratcheting up the pressure for increasingly competent IT leadership. Adding to already-high stress levels, the transition from individual contributor to leader/manager continues to be a source of difficulty and frustration. This series of two articles focuses on this “toughest transition” and describes ways in which CIOs and their leader and manager colleagues can improve the transition process. Part One focuses on the challenges new IT leaders experience as they begin their transition. Part Two revisits one of these new leaders as she prepares to lead a multi-location team working on customer-related initiatives.