How IT Leaders View Their Roles In 2024 And Beyond

IT leaders have become key players in how successful a company can become as IT is no longer viewed as mere capital expenditure, but as a profit-making and visionary unit.

A recent survey of IT leaders revealed that most consider their leadership style "transformational."

IDC's 2024 State of the CIO report included results from a survey of 1,126 IT leaders. The survey asked these leaders which archetype best aligns with their leadership style. Thirty-seven percent said transformational, 34 percent cited functional, and 29 percent said they most aligned with the style of business strategist.

The survey also detailed what IT leaders considered their CEOs' highest priorities. Number one was leading "digital business and digital transformation initiatives." Second highest priority was "fortifying IT and business collaboration" as well as "upgrading IT and data security to reduce corporate risk."

Seventy-eight percent of IT leaders also said their roles in their companies had risen. According to the report, 85 percent of CIOs agree that the CIO is becoming a changemaker, increasingly leading business and technology initiatives.

Among CIOs, 54 percent said that they anticipate budget increases in 2024. As far as artificial intelligence – 80 percent of IT leaders surveyed said that they will be involved in AI and machine learning in some capacity.

MES Computing asked several IT leaders how they define their leadership style and what they see on the roadmap as the most important technology and challenges in 2024 and beyond.

'Seeing The Vision'

Vennard Wright is the CEO and founder of PerVista, an AI-powered platform that analyzes real-time video feeds and senses possible threats. He has also served as the CIO/VP of operations at Iron Bow Technologies, the CIO of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, the CIO of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and has held other IT leadership roles.

Wright shared his thoughts on his transformational style of leadership:

"For my time as CIO and even continuing into starting my own company, I want to make sure that we're not just using technology for technology's sake, but really using technology to move organizations forward," he said.

Vennard Wright, CEO and Founder, PerVista

“One of the things that I’ve told people is that if they're looking for a CIO who comes in and maintains the status quo, or if I go into an organization where things are already going smoothly, I'm probably not your person, and the reason for that is my personality. I really like challenges, number one, but then number two, part of what made me successful is that I really want to understand what an organization [is] looking to accomplish and what the inhibitors [are] from keeping them from accomplishing those things," he added.

For Wright, IT leadership is "really a matter of seeing the vision, understanding where things could be better, and then applying technology. That's the way that I tend to approach transformation, not just as a former CIO, but also as someone who engages directly with organizations on their technology initiatives," he said.

Despite Economic, Political Challanges, 'We Should Be Fine'

Robert Fitzgerald is a field CISO with Blue Mantis – an IT solutions and services provider that is also a 2024 MES Midmarket 100 company.

"I think 2024 is a transformative year in business and technology," Fitzgerald said. "Over the past six months, I have had many conversations, led workshops, and offered clients advice on 'what's next?' It is a rhetorical question naturally, but a crucial one. There is a lot of hype, some excitement, and a ton of concern about the impact of AI on the workforce and how to integrate AI into an organization in a risk-free manner. All of this leads me to believe that I am in the role of strategic advisor, helping clients envision the future they need," he added.

Robert Fitzgerald, Field CISO, Blue Mantis

"With the introduction of generative AI and the increasing number of employees retiring from the workforce, organizations don't want to make a mistake. If they lean into AI too quickly, mistakes will be made. This might encourage seasoned knowledge workers to walk away. If they introduce AI too slowly, they risk losing a competitive advantage or creating the perception with younger employees that they are not embracing innovation. With both the proliferation of gen AI and the increase in retirees, organizations need to have their data security protocols and data privacy policies in place," he said.

For IT leaders' challenges in 2024 and on, Fitzgerald said: "I see the biggest challenge of 2024 as market and economic hesitation due to the POTUS election cycle. We have seen a number of fluctuations that appear to be based on electoral polls rather than market opportunity. At the same time, the cooling off of the market has given many organizations an opportunity to reset and refocus. As long as these realignments don't create a hesitancy that leads to missed opportunities, we should be fine."

"Beyond the economy, the increase in data security and privacy regulation and [the] shrinking workforce are creating opportunities for organizations to offload workloads to service providers they can partner with provided they have a viable plan to make that transition of duties and responsibilities," he added.

Listen To People's 'Pain Points'

Marques Stewart is the vice president of technology at Achievement First – a network of public charter schools serving15,000 students in 41 schools in five communities across Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island – and is the founder of P75 Solutions, an IT consulting firm. Stewart is also a member of the MES IT Leadership Network.

Working in the education sector, Stewart said his leadership style is "transformational" as well as "functional-transformational."

Marques Stewart, Vice President Of Technology, Achievement First

"Especially when we look at the potential use of AI in our organization and when it comes to our kids ... how can that help with improving business functionalities and all that kind of stuff?" He also said his leadership involved listening to "the constant pain points of people within the organization."

However, he also says being a business strategist is also part of his leadership style.

"The reason I split it between transformational and business strategy is it may not necessarily deal with the direct business strategy, so to speak, but it can be transformational in terms of changing some experience on the ground to make it a lot better or a lot different than what it previously was, whether that's adding new functionality into the network or removing obstacles to the network."

Using Technology For 'Creating Equity'

Ken Granderson is the founder and Chief Technology Officer at Blackfacts.com. Before founding his company, Granderson, an MIT graduate, served as CTO at Nexify.com and was a senior software engineer with HP. As an IT leader, he said he sees himself as "purely transformational."

"I have been very motivated from a transformational standpoint. I call myself an unapologetically Black technologist. I'm the [idea] cowboy, the 'let's get it done' creative person. That's why I've always focused on transformation as well as my lived experiences showed me that technology could potentially be an incredible tool for creating equity."

Ken Granderson, Founder and CEO, Blackfacts.com

As far as the technology that should be on every IT leader's radar, Granderson said it's generative AI.

" I believe that generative AI is the first tech I've seen that is not hype," he said. "Generative AI is the first general purpose technology I've ever seen that does not require high levels of technical skill ... non-tech folks who are specialists in various areas can leverage this stuff and get at greater chances at equity," he added.

'Sustainable And Green Tech' Will Be A 'Huge' Focus

Adam Carpenter is a senior program manager at Lumio, where he also manages post-merger and acquisition integrations, strategic partnerships, and SaaS. He is also a member of the MES IT Leadership Network.

"In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, I see myself primarily as a transformational leader. My title is more aligned with strategy, but I drive change and manage operations all day, every day. I manage and lead technical portfolios, focusing on change management and adaptability. My day-to-day involves leading teams to complete major programs and deliver value to the company early and often. I oversee agile workflows for multiple scrum teams across various domains, ensuring smooth project execution and alignment with business goals," he said.

The technology that IT leaders should focus on? Carpenter also said it's AI.

"Looking ahead, I believe IT leaders should pay close attention to AI for sure. It's the quickest technology ever adopted, and everyone is using it in some capacity. I continue to hear a lot of cybersecurity but with the small-to mid-size companies I am not seeing the value. Working in the solar industry I believe Sustainable and Green Tech will be another huge advancement in the next two years. Innovations in renewable energy, carbon capture, and sustainable materials will see increased investment as the world focuses on combating climate change," he added.

Have An 'In-Depth Understanding’ Of Your Market

Derrick Washington is the CTO and founder of Nand Logic. He is an embedded SoC design architect. The company designs SoC chips for several industries including defense, aerospace and some consumer verticals.

Washington said he considers his leadership style as "a functional and business strategist at the same time."

Derrick Washington, Founder and CTO, Nand Logic

"I have to [go] with business strategist, because I'm the founder of the company. I have to have a vision as to where I want the company to go and how we're going to position ourselves to get there, step by step," he said.

He said his work requires "an in-depth understanding of the market and knowing the way that the market may shift in the next six months. You have try to position yourself ahead of that and the other part of it is trying to bring in new clients," he added.