leadership

The CIO’s New Mandate: Rearchitecting Enterprise Work

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The article argues that CIOs must lead a shift from simply managing enterprise applications to redesigning enterprise work itself, leveraging AI agents to orchestrate work outcomes rather than just automating tasks within discrete systems. This new discipline, called Enterprise Work Architecture (EWA), involves mapping business outcomes to work activities, defining authority and execution across humans and AI, and measuring economic impact, enabling more efficient, secure, and transparent operations across integrated applications. The transformation requires CIOs to collaborate across business functions to reimagine how work flows through technology and human judgment, focusing on outcomes rather than individual applications.

https://www.cio.com/article/4230816/the-cios-new-mandate-rearchitecting-enterprise-work.html

Should the CISO Role Be Split in Two?

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As the CISO role expands from technical security oversight to encompass business risk management, governance, and strategic leadership, industry experts debate whether it should be split into separate business-focused and technical-focused positions. While some organizations have introduced deputy CISOs to manage operational tasks, the consensus among professionals like Todd Fitzgerald and Tim Brown is that a single CISO with clearly defined responsibilities is preferable, supported by appropriate teams to handle technical and governance functions. The evolving role increasingly requires CISOs to act as business leaders responsible for cyber risk at the enterprise level, raising the importance of executive authority, board engagement, and personal liability considerations.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/4230243/should-the-ciso-role-be-split-in-two.html

Who Should Own AI? I Started with an Incomplete Answer

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AI transformation requires shared ownership across technology, security, legal, finance, and business leaders, as no single function can fully own the work. While a chief AI officer or similar executive should be accountable for strategy, governance, and organizational change, effective AI adoption depends on cross-functional collaboration to redesign workflows, manage risk, and integrate AI sustainably into operations.

https://www.cio.com/article/4229636/who-should-own-ai-i-started-with-an-incomplete-answer.html

AI Won’t Replace CIOs. It Will Expose the Ones Who Can’t Lead People

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AI is automating much of the technical work previously handled by CIOs, exposing deficiencies in people leadership rather than replacing these executives. Senior IT leaders face increased expectations to manage complex interpersonal challenges—such as difficult conversations and resource negotiations—that AI cannot resolve, highlighting the need for stronger emotional intelligence and communication skills in technology leadership roles. Those CIOs who develop and embrace these people-focused capabilities will be better positioned to succeed in the AI-augmented workplace.

https://www.cio.com/article/4229000/ai-wont-replace-cios-it-will-expose-the-ones-who-cant-lead-people.html

Top Soft Skills for CIOs, and How to Get Them

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Modern CIOs must develop key soft skills—such as storytelling, stakeholder management, emotional intelligence, negotiation, change leadership, conflict navigation, and adaptability—to effectively lead beyond technical expertise. These skills enable CIOs to communicate complex ideas, align diverse organizational priorities, manage resistance to change, and drive adoption of technology initiatives, with practical experience and deliberate practice being essential for mastery.

https://www.techtarget.com/it-strategy/tip/Top-soft-skills-for-CIOs-and-how-to-get-them

September AMA: I’m a CISO Who’s Built Many Security Teams. I Want to Help You Level up Your Career. Ask Me Anything.

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CISO Series hosts a September AMA featuring experienced cybersecurity leaders who have built and led multiple security teams, offering advice on career growth, leadership, hiring, and team management within the security field. The panel includes CISOs and security directors from diverse organizations and covers topics such as AI security, cloud security, risk management, and security culture. Participants engage with the community over a week-long event on Reddit to answer questions and share insights relevant to advancing careers in cybersecurity.

https://cisoseries.com/september-ama-im-a-ciso-whos-built-many-security-teams-i-want-to-help-you-level-up-your-career-ask-me-anything/

EY Global Vice Chair: AI’s Biggest Paradox Comes Down to What AI Can’t Do

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EY Global Vice Chair Julie Teigland emphasizes that while AI excels at repetitive tasks and data processing, it cannot replace essential human judgment required to set goals, interpret context, and make decisions. She highlights that companies miss out on significant AI productivity gains due to gaps in talent development, particularly in cultivating AI fluency as a leadership skill that integrates technical operation with critical evaluation. Teigland advocates for collaborative approaches across organizations and ecosystems to efficiently scale AI technology without reinventing solutions, citing EY’s work with partners that improved operational performance and speed.

https://fortune.com/2026/09/27/ai-fluency-human-judgment-leadership/

The Accidental CIO Is Disappearing, and That Might Be a Problem

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The traditional “accidental CIO,” who gained broad leadership experience through varied, unstructured roles, is becoming rare as technology careers grow more specialized and structured. This shift creates a challenge because modern CIOs need not only deep technical expertise but also extensive business, financial, and leadership experience to effectively influence enterprise strategy and navigate complex transformations. To prepare future CIOs for these expanded responsibilities, organizations should deliberately engineer diverse experiential development—such as managing P&Ls, leading major transformations, and engaging with executive stakeholders—rather than relying solely on certifications or narrowly focused career paths.

https://www.cio.com/article/4225055/the-accidental-cio-is-disappearing-and-that-might-be-a-problem.html

‘Not My Cup of Tea’ Is the Most Expensive Sentence in Your Engineering Org

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As AI commoditizes much of traditional coding work, engineers must develop stronger communication and customer-facing skills to remain relevant and add value. The article argues that organizations should break down silos, promote cross-functional collaboration, and encourage engineers to engage directly with customers to improve judgment and product outcomes, while emphasizing coaching willing engineers in these capabilities rather than expecting all to do so. This shift reflects a market repricing of roles toward engineers who can understand the broader context, navigate trade-offs, and explain technical decisions beyond their specialization.

https://www.cio.com/article/4225109/not-my-cup-of-tea-is-the-most-expensive-sentence-in-your-engineering-org.html

Risk Management Isn’t an Insurance Decision, It’s a Leadership Decision

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Powell Brown, CEO of Brown & Brown, emphasizes that risk management is a leadership responsibility that requires continuous engagement rather than treating insurance as a transactional annual renewal. Effective risk management involves understanding exposures, preparing for diverse scenarios, and integrating risk considerations into business operations to protect organizational assets amid evolving threats like cyberattacks, AI governance challenges, and geopolitical uncertainty. Brown advocates for specialized, advisory-driven risk strategies tailored to each industry to help leaders make informed decisions and strengthen their organizations proactively.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-content-studio/publishing-partner/ccb-risk-management-insurance-leadership-brown/

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