Modern Servant Leader

APRIL 18, 2023

A little story of one time I made a stand, paid the price, then reaped the reward… If looks could kill, the CIO would have assassinated me on the spot. The CIO had a large ego and surrounded himself with yes men and (very few) women. The unwritten rule was clear: support him, or you limit your career options.

CIO 130

CIO Servant Leader Short-term Long-term 130

ReImagine Work

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

About 7 years into my IT career I realized I didn’t love the technology enough to excel over the long haul. These realizations settled in, and having recently survived my first downsizing in IT, I chose to pursue a career in human resources. A version of this post originally ran on the CIO online site on April 27, 2015.

Human Resources 100

Human Resources Resources CIO Chemicals 100

Lead Change Blog

MARCH 28, 2017

A few weeks later, still ecstatic about my new career path, I felt divided … unsettled … incapable … like an imposter. According to Wikipedia, the term Imposter Syndrome was coined by Pauline R. You can have anything in life that you want as long. Finally, I made it through all the interviews and the job was mine.

CIO 150

CIO Transportation Learning-by-Doing Information Technology 150

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2014

It doesn’t take long for technologies to outgrow their usefulness. But as former Air Force CIO Bill Lord told me, updating IT doesn’t match an agency’s central mission in terms of priorities. Give us a sense of the challenge of keeping up with technology as a military CIO. Below is an edited version of our conversation.

CIO 8

CIO Health Care Metrics Software 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 5, 2014

If this sounds like your boss, your career may be at risk. Working for a manager who is conflict-averse can have deleterious effects on your performance and your career. But there are serious long-term effects. People let it go on for a long time,” McKeown says. Case study #2: Don’t stay too long.

Case Study 13

Case Study Resources Long-term CIO 13

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 26, 2013

I keep thinking of the health-care IT professionals I’ve worked with for much of my career and how they must be dreading the long, rough road that lies ahead for them. I recently caught up with Keith Jennings, the current CIO, to see if some of the longer-term initiatives had achieved the intended results.

Tips 11

Tips Health Care Budgeting CIO 11

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 14, 2015

I call this phenomenon “executive brownout” and the details of El-Erian’s departure (not to mention more recent reporting on the conduct of his co-CIO Bill Gross, who has also since resigned) only confirmed my opinion that he was very likely suffering from it.

CIO 8

CIO CFO Crisis Execution 8