Can you tell if a CIO is at risk of leaving -- or being pushed out? Analyst Frank Scavo, president of Computer Economics, an IT research firm in Irvine, Calif., says these six types should be on the watch list.

1. The Irrelevant CIO: When a CIO focuses too much on ongoing IT support instead of evaluating the direction of the business and using technology to help the company move forward, he is at grave risk of making himself irrelevant. "You can see how a CIO like that becomes a second-tier player in the business," Scavo says. This is a CIO who's a prime target for being pushed out.

2. The Frustrated CIO: A CIO might feel as though he has hit a career dead-end when he really wants to make a difference but has been pigeonholed as a glorified IT support technician and isn't given a chance to help set long-term goals and strategy. "He may need to leave, and he may find out that it's more attractive to do what he wants to do as an IT consultant," says Scavo.

3. The Burned-Out CIO: Some CIOs are "tired of being in a pressure-cooker, [tired] of having projects to deliver while being starved of funds," Scavo says. "They're always getting beaten up by peers about delivering technology. They are smart people and they want to do a good job, but it's a high-pressure job and they get burned out."

4. The Bored CIO: An IT leader may grow restless and start looking for challenges elsewhere if, for example, he has turned around his IT department and now has nothing left to add. "Some CIOs are good at creating new things, but when things become stable, they get bored," says Scavo.