I recently wrote an article about what you need to know when seeking a new job, but do you wonder why other CIOs have left their jobs suddenly or why an organization has had more turnover than normal in the CIO position? Knowing why others have left or been replaced before you take a job can be very critical to your potential for success. Without this information, it can be a scary thought to accept a position.
It may be hard to find out why prior CIOs left, but that should be one of the first questions you ask a potential employer. If you are working with a retained executive recruiter, he/she will know why a previous CIO left a position and should tell you.
To put you in the mood for Halloween, here are some scary career stories of CIOs who didn’t quite work out. Yet for each of these tricky situations, there was a treat in terms of a successful replacement. These scenarios may help you in facing similar situations.
Tricky Situation: A multi-hospital system in the Northwest was acquired by a large national health system and the sitting CIO refused to abide by the new corporate IT strategy. He continued to do his own IT thing and was terminated.
Treat: A new Regional CIO was hired who accepted the corporate policy and communicates it clearly to her IT colleagues in the local system. She emphasizes collaboration and open communication with her new employer, and has found success.
Tricky Situation: An academic medical center in the Northeast suffered a failed revenue cycle and EMR installation and lost many millions in the first months after installation. The CIO was terminated.
Treat: An Interim CIO was hired, as well as outside consultants to reinstall the system and stabilize the IT department. The Interim CIO understood the tough situation he was walking into, did what he was supposed to do, and as a result was hired as the permanent CIO after six months. He has successfully transformed the failed system and revitalized the IT department.
Tricky Situation: A small mid-Atlantic community hospital had a poor track record of five CIOs in 10 years, yet other C-Suite executives have been there for a long time and are stable. Each previous CIO was recruited locally yet struggled to fit in with national IT colleagues and support their initiatives.
Treat: The national IT organization worked with an executive recruiting firm to do a broad national search for a CIO. They found a candidate who was aligned with the national IT strategy yet appreciated the local culture and organization — in other words, someone who works well with both local and national colleagues.
Avoiding Scary Job Scenarios
The good news is that scary job scenarios can be avoided. First, do your research when looking for a new CIO job — and before you interview. As we know, this is a small industry and gossip and hearsay spread quickly and can appear on the Internet. Terminations and turnovers are frequently discussed on some websites. Ask your hiring manager or recruiter for the reasons why the previous CIO left or if there are multiple C-Suite turnovers.
Next, make sure you understand what you’re getting yourself into, and if you can adapt to the task at hand and the new organization’s culture and structure. Especially in today’s environment of consolidation and uncertainty, it is usually the CIO who must adapt to a new employer rather than the other way around.
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