ABSTRACT
Personally, I love getting credit. I still want my CIO magazine editor to send me roses when I submit a new column each month, and I am slightly disappointed when my husband doesn’t congratulate me at the end of every day for completing a full day of work. I can only imagine how difficult it is for CIOs to achieve some fairly astounding feats like delivering a new suite of mobile applications (or even upgrading ERP!) and not be handed the keys to the city. Hence, the paradox: You drive the project from the backseat, a paradox unto itself, and when the project is a success, the business gets the credit. Ah, but that is the lot in life of the CIO. (You asked for the job.)
As a manager, you are always deciding when you should lead an initiative and when you should hand the reins to members of your senior team. The same goes with parenting: When is it best that you drive the car, and when do you allow your new teenage driver to take the wheel? Your ability to harness those mentoring instincts comes in handy when engaging the business in IT project execution.
