communication

The Evolving Skill Set of the CIO

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Organizations face challenges finding CIOs who combine strong communication, technical expertise, commercial awareness, and change management skills to meet expanding business and technology demands, especially amid AI adoption. Modern CIOs increasingly act as strategic leaders driving enterprise-wide transformation, requiring a balance of managerial and technical capabilities to align technology investments with business outcomes and navigate continuous digital change.

https://www.ciodive.com/news/CIO-skill-set-AI-adoption-efforts/826288/

What Next-Generation IT Leadership Looks Like

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Former Verizon CIO Jane Connell emphasizes that next-generation IT leadership requires balancing operational excellence with innovation, fostering curiosity to navigate AI-driven change, and cultivating human connection to build trust and followership beyond traditional hierarchies. She highlights the importance of blending deep technical expertise with strong business acumen to leverage data and technology effectively, while advocating for honest, succinct communication and resilience in taking calculated risks for growth. Connell believes the future success of IT leaders will depend on their ability to inspire collaboration, humility, and continuous learning amidst evolving organizational and technological landscapes.

https://www.cio.com/article/4195784/what-next-generation-it-leadership-looks-like.html

The New AI Trust Architecture: 5 Requirements for Agent-to-Agent Communication

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Salesforce AI Research identifies a critical need for a new trust architecture to enable effective, reliable communication and negotiation between autonomous AI agents representing competing organizations. The framework requires five key elements: interpretable standards beyond fixed rules, persistent identity and reputation linked to principals, governance through boundaries rather than exhaustive scripting, structured accountability traceable to humans, and calibrated escalation to balance automation with liability. These principles aim to establish governance, legal, and ethical guardrails before AI agents handle consequential enterprise transactions at scale.

https://www.salesforce.com/blog/new-ai-trust-architecture/

“Boards Love to Hear Jargon,” Says Soon-to-Be-Fired CISO

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Cybersecurity boards often lack expertise, making meaningful governance challenging as many directors cannot critically evaluate risk reports and rely heavily on CISOs’ presentations. Experts suggest CISOs should engage with board members one-on-one outside formal meetings to build understanding and trust, translating technical risk into business terms, while emphasizing that boards must maintain fiduciary responsibility without needing deep technical knowledge. Additionally, rapid AI adoption in competitive markets pressures organizations to balance speed with security, with the consensus favoring faster innovation despite associated risks.

https://cisoseries.com/boards-love-to-hear-jargon-says-soon-to-be-fired-ciso/

Most CISOs Report Pressure to Bury Bad Security News

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A report by Checkmarx reveals that 95% of CISOs feel pressured to suppress or delay reporting security issues, due to competing business priorities and concerns from boards and executives about timing and public perception. This pressure undermines transparency and complicates disclosure decisions, especially when vulnerabilities may not pose significant immediate risk but could affect customer trust and legal standing. Experts suggest integrating CISOs more fully into business strategy and shifting cybersecurity from a compliance checkbox to an operational resilience focus to alleviate these challenges.

https://www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/most-cisos-report-pressure-to-bury-bad-security-news

7 Ways for CIOs to Deliver Bad News Without Losing Trust

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The article outlines seven strategies for CIOs to deliver bad news effectively without losing trust, emphasizing transparency, clear communication, and solution-oriented approaches. Key recommendations include sharing information early to avoid surprises, presenting the core issue upfront, translating technical problems into business impacts, owning the problem while proposing solutions, sticking to facts without speculation, maintaining neutrality without emotional defensiveness, and fostering a culture that encourages early reporting of issues. These practices help build trust, facilitate timely decision-making, and shift focus from blame to constructive action.

https://www.cio.com/article/4177020/7-ways-for-cios-to-deliver-bad-news-without-losing-trust.html

Nobody Pushed Back: Why Engineers Stay Silent Until It’s Too Late

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The article explains that major engineering failures often occur not because of a lack of knowledge but because engineers stay silent when they foresee problems, as speaking up is socially or professionally costly. Cases from Nokia, TSB, Boeing, and Microsoft illustrate how technical risks were known internally but suppressed due to company culture, fear of backlash, and a prioritization of “alignment” over genuine dissent, leading to disastrous outcomes. The piece emphasizes the need for organizational environments that encourage safe and constructive pushback to prevent such failures.

https://howtocenterdiv.com/beyond-the-div/nobody-pushed-back

Delivering an Impactful 15-Minute Board Briefing

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Cyber risk oversight is increasingly a priority for audit committees, which often allocate only 10 to 15 minutes per quarter for cybersecurity briefings amidst other responsibilities. Effective CIO and CISO briefings focus on delivering concise, actionable insights that highlight material risks, changes in the external environment, and program health, enabling directors to govern with clear priorities and decisions rather than merely receiving status updates.

https://www.cio.com/article/4163334/delivering-an-impactful-15-minute-board-briefing.html

Why Leaders Need “Power Skills”

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Many leaders today face a significant skills gap as traditional leadership abilities no longer align with the demands of modern workplaces, leading to eroding trust, low employee engagement, talent loss, and reduced innovation. Developing mastery in soft skills, referred to as “power skills,” is essential for leaders to effectively build trust, foster engagement, and sustain success in evolving organizational environments.

https://hbr.org/2026/04/why-leaders-need-power-skills

Why ‘Need-to-Know’ Communication Fails Modern IT Teams

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Fredrik Hagstroem argues that “need-to-know” communication fails modern IT teams because withholding information constrains decision-making and trust. He emphasizes that clarity requires completeness and context rather than brevity, noting that modern complex IT environments demand broader information sharing to empower teams, build trust, and drive effective action toward goals.

https://www.cio.com/article/4153864/why-need-to-know-communication-fails-modern-it-teams.html

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