subject: Roles and leadership of the Chief Information Officer in higher education [print this page] Karimi and Gupta (1996) define the CIO role as "attributes that successful IT leaders should possess" (p. 71). The role of the CIO is thought to be associated with behaviors that are implicit for the success of the leaders and of the organizational subunits they direct. Applegate and Elam (1992) posit that the structure or chosen strategy of the IT department somewhat directs the role adopted by the CIOs. When the function of IT is strictly supportive, then the top IT leader may only be a technical expert and a merely competent manager. However, when the firm begins to use Information Systems as one of their competitive weapons, the role of the top IT leader may be necessarily extended. The IT leader then must begin to act as a link between IT and other executives in the firm. Earl (1989) even suggested that successful IT leaders see themselves as corporate officers and general business managers. He says that good political skills and a high profile may place them in contention for top-line management positions. He goes on to delineate four leadership attributes for IS leaders: (a) business leadership to link the use of IT with the business needs and strategy of the firm, (b) technology leadership to draw up and implement technology policies, (c) organizational leadership to direct and steer IT structures and to perform the controlling managerial function to make them work, and (d) functional leadership to manage the IT function and the accompanying specialist sub-groups.
Roles and leadership of the Chief Information Officer in higher education
