Some companies have built strong leadership development programs aimed at grooming future IT leaders. But too many haven't followed the lead. Why not?

For the past few months, we’ve talked a lot about the importance of CIO succession planning. The topic never seems to go away—which is incredibly troubling.

A recent feature in Computerworld illustrated how several companies—including Clearwire, Direct Energy, and Purdue Pharma—have developed true, sustainable leadership development programs that actually yield potential successors to the CIO chair.

They’re great examples, but unfortunately, they’re some of the few.

Why isn’t succession planning a top priority for CIOs? In his CIO Insight column, Dr. Arthur Langer cited two primary reasons why: First, that executive management isn’t interested in initiating succession planning—primarily because they don’t fully understand IT’s role; and second, because CIOs aren’t doing enough in their own organizations to foster future leaders.

Dan Roberts, president of Ouellette & Associates who has been running IT training programs for more than 25 years, recently told me how CIOs are working harder to transform their employees into internal business consultants, not just IT operatives:

“On the individual level, CIOs are really looking to training to provide a spark to engage and motivate their people in new ways, and get them to see that they’re part of a viable and growing profession… The profession is changing, but there’s still a great future ahead. Those who complement their technical knowledge with these core skills will be better prepared for IT roles that will become increasingly business-facing and client-facing.”

That’s a very important distinction, and one that I’ve heard from some of the sharpest IT leaders out there in terms of their outlook for training.

We’d like to hear from CIOs about their programs and processes for developing future leaders—and we’d also like to know why you think more companies and IT organizations are putting these initiatives in place.

Contact me at brian.watson@wforce.org, or sound off in the comments section below.

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