The new CIO playbook: 7 tips for success from day one

Congratulations, you’ve been promoted to CIO! Hopefully, you are well prepared for to succeed in making the leap, ready to lead your team, gain the trust of your peers, represent the IT team effectively to upper management, and be a star player at the next board meeting. None of this is easy, though. And while all the mentoring and coaching you have received along the way can help, not every IT leader knows where to begin when taking the helm. By way of offering a playbook for new CIOs, I asked veteran CIOs and tech leads for advice on how to get this right from day one. Their advice might also help improve your chances of getting that promotion to CIO — if you aren’t quite there yet. If there is a key to unlocking this next level of your career — aside from experience and a deep knowledge of technology — it might be summed up with a single word: “Listen,” says Leon Roberge, CIO at Toshiba America Business Solutions and Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. “I’ve seen a lot of management that doesn’t listen,” he says. “They try to dictate.”