And you won't find lack of technology chops here. You get a bigger kick out of fixing your broken Palm computer than asking an employee how he’s enjoying his work. When an interview candidate asks you how you deal with conflict on your staff, you find yourself gabbing about a great movie you saw last night. In your book, giving people freedom on the job means getting rid of the sign-in sheet. After your employees put in 80-hour weeks for two months to meet a critical deadline, you reward them with pizza and movie passes. When it comes time for performance reviews, you give mostly negative feedback because you know that’s the only way people will improve. When one of your best workers tells you she can’t get a business sponsor on her project to return her phone and e-mail messages, you tell her that patience is a virtue and to keep trying. An employee survey reveals a need for mentors for your junior staff. You send them to a networking event at a local trade association. You believe employees hate sitting through department meetings to hear about what’s going on in the company. Those who are interested will come ask you. In your opinion, your job is to mold good employees into the job descriptions that best suit your organization’s needs, rather than to capitalize on their skills. You organize a chauffeured night on the town for your top performers, hosted by yours truly and the management team. No one shows up. Related content Feature How culture and strategic partnerships help fuel transformation Marc Hale, CTO for AIA New Zealand, recently spoke with Cathy O’Sullivan, editor for CIO New Zealand, about navigating the complexities of digital transformation, and focusing on culture to enable healthier outcomes for customers. By CIO staff Mar 22, 2023 7 mins CTO Digital Transformation Change Management Feature 10 things CIOs wish they knew from the start Go slower. Network. Tell stories. Get training. Be kind. CIOs have plenty of advice they’d give to their younger selves if they could. By Martin Veitch Mar 22, 2023 7 mins CIO Careers IT Management Interview CIO Karriem Shakoor on harnessing the power of data democratization The UL Solutions tech chief aims to empower business stakeholders and improve marketing and sales effectiveness through comprehensive data transformation. By Martha Heller Mar 22, 2023 5 mins Data Management IT Leadership News Nvidia accelerates enterprise adoption of generative AI Nvidia’s AI Foundations as-a-service offering aims to help enterprises build and run AI models that generate text, graphics, and even proteins. By Peter Sayer Mar 21, 2023 5 mins Cloud Management Infrastructure Management Artificial Intelligence Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe