Thoughts on what it takes to be a good CIO/CTO

I was poking around LinkedIn earlier and came across a question that was asked to the collective LinkedIn community. The question was, "What makes a good CIO or CTO?"

These are the top three strengths that come to mind; note that they could easily be applied against other executive positions.

1. Ability to lead people.

Leadership is a fuzzy thing, part art and part science. Good leaders inspire people, motivate people, teach people, and help people to succeed -- all without the people in question knowing that they are being inspired, motivated or helped. Good leaders also build teams, build important trust relationships, listen to their people, and guide their people with care.

2. Ability to see with vision.

This is a hard one, because what I really mean if that a CTO/CIO needs to be able to predict the future -- the future of the company, the future of the market, and the future of the technological environment. Vision is 50% forsight and 50% introspection, organizationally speaking. Seeing with vision requires courage and a personal sense of the "rightness" of trends and external predictions.

3. Ability to execute.

I know a lot of really smart people who can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. The ability to get things done, to organize, plan, and carry out any activity that imparts change on an organization, is a very important skill. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road, where the plan becomes reality, and where the majority of the people you lead spend their days. When you successfully execute, your people are earning their paychecks, they are probably very happily at work, and the enterprise machine becomes better-tuned and more profitable. It's a win win.

My thoughts, thought I'd share them.