Trading Places: Managing CIO/CFO Mindsets Through Hypothetical Role Reversals and a "Systems Thinking" Approach

Trading Places: Managing CIO/CFO Mindsets Through Hypothetical Role Reversals and a "Systems Thinking" Approach
This IDC Perspective discusses how to manage CIO/CFO mindsets through hypothetical role reversals and a "systems thinking" approach. The concept of switching a CFO with a CIO and vice versa is a bit absurd, but the leadership capabilities, teaming behaviors, business acumen, and strategic thinking required for both roles are remarkably similar. When seeking to make organizations run as smoothly as possible, the ability of these two positions to coordinate their actions and intentions is vital for providing sustained business outcomes. To operate best, consider systems thinking to provide them a common problem-solving language."In today's highly complex world, it is often difficult to determine the best solution to large seemingly intractable problems. Reaching into the not-so-recent past to pull out systems thinking to make sense of them may seem counterintuitive. But my reasoning is sound because these archetypes seek to make sense of the complex through collaboration as well as debate to think through the most important elements for changing the complicated into realistic choices and decisions." — Bill Latshaw, lead researcher, Worldwide Business Consulting Services at IDC

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