Challenge and Vision

The Central Ohio CIO Forum recognized a critical gap in leadership talent needed to sustain the region’s growth as one of the nation’s top technology corridors. This shortage of leaders ready to step into CIO roles threatened the region’s economic development plans. To address this, the Forum partnered with the Innovative Leadership Institute® (ILI) and Expedient, a full-stack data center and cloud services provider. Together, they created an IT Leadership program that develops the technology leadership talent required to meet future demands.

The Goal: Our partnership identified its mission as elevating the quality of Technology Leadership in Central Ohio and beyond.

By doing so, we aim to support business performance, succession planning, regional economic development, healthy business growth, financial success, improved employee engagement, and the attraction and retention of top technology talent in the Central Ohio region. Each company measured its talent goals independently. Additionally, Dublin measured their business development efforts.

The Solution

ILI designed and delivered a comprehensive Innovative Leadership IT Leaders™ program that leverages the best leadership models, assessments, learning technology, and insights from successful leaders. The program combines asynchronous online content with synchronous in-person, expertly facilitated conversations. Moreover, participants engage in a variety of activities, including:

• In-Class Learning: Six content sessions and four expert roundtable discussions, held 2.5 hours per month. These sessions are regularly updated based on trends and leadership research.
• Roundtables: Local CIOs share their professional experiences, providing IT leaders with valuable business insights and perspectives on becoming senior leaders. The City of Dublin, Ohio, co-sponsors these candid discussions on workforce development.
• Networking Events: Building a strong community of leaders who support one another in navigating the challenges technology leaders face.
• Assessments: Participants complete pre- and post-session Innovative Leadership behavior assessments and incorporate the feedback into their learning assignments. They also self-select from various additional assessments to support their development goals.
• Leadership Deliverables: Participants complete activities presented in six modules using award-winning workbooks, podcasts, and videos delivered via our customized online platform.
• Accountability: Participants submit deliverables, receive feedback, and track their progress toward certification.
• Community Building: Sharing assignments with learning partners matched using the Position Success Indicator Assessment, fostering a network of like-minded peers.
• Progress Evaluation: Soliciting feedback from participants and CIOs on development progress.
• Co-Certification: Participants who complete all requirements earn an Innovative Leadership Certification from the Franklin University Mason Leadership Center and a discount to the Franklin University MBA program.

Results and Impact

The program generated significant outcomes:

• Participant Success: Of the 241 participants completing the program and 179 tracked (based on available data) from 118 Central Ohio IT organizations:
  • 65% of participants in the first eight cohorts have been promoted—roughly 2X the expected rate over a comparable period (based on SHRM’s ~6–7% average annual promotion benchmark).
  • 22 participants (12% of those with available data) advanced to C-level roles—more than 10X typical career attainment, given that C-suite positions represent roughly 1% of roles in a typical organization.
  • 241 participants earned certification.
  • 15 joined the Advanced Leadership Development Program.
  • $68,000 raised for the Central Ohio CIO Forum Scholarship Fund.
  • Approximately 30% of participants are women and minorities.
• CIOs whose direct reports took part in our Innovative Leadership IT Leaders program attributed a 90–100% improvement in the key areas below based on their participation:
  • Individual leadership skills and performance
  • Culture and performance of their group
  • Ability to take on additional leadership responsibilities/promotion
• Ongoing Engagement: The program has better-prepared leaders for additional responsibilities and has seen substantial, increasing enrollment. Over 118 companies have registered employees, filling senior roles with local talent. The program continually updates content to address community needs and attract diverse leaders.
• The City of Dublin, a co-sponsor of the program, has experienced strong, sustained growth in income tax revenue, exceeding budgeted expectations and consistently breaking records. This demonstrates a significant increase in business revenues for Dublin, Ohio, since the program was founded in 2017.

Conclusion

The best leaders elevate their leadership by actively participating in well-designed, well-delivered leadership development programs. The Innovative Leadership IT Leaders program is an example of how the Innovative Leadership Institute partners with its clients to create customized programs offering a range of activities, including learning key frameworks, building skills, practicing new behaviors, and receiving feedback. Furthermore, leveraging the latest research on leadership development for adult learners, the program engages busy leaders through a blend of self-paced learning, reflection activities, learning practices, group activities, and feedback. Participants and their organizations benefit from facilitated conversations about applying their knowledge to their evolving workplaces. The graduates actively contribute to the community’s economic development goals by becoming the leadership talent required to attract top companies to the region. Lastly, recent multibillion-dollar strategic investments by leading technology companies reinforce the importance of a skilled workforce in attracting economic development.