Even though L'Heureux has managed to survive each change at the top, that hasn't lessened his anxiety about job security each time new leadership comes aboard. "There's the uncertainty of not knowing whether the new guy will sweep away everyone who is here and bring in his own people," he says.

But L'Heureux has survived, in large part by listening well, demonstrating a willingness to compromise and dealing carefully with organizational politics.

"Because Gary [Kaatz, CEO of Rockford Health System since 2000] didn't hire me directly like he did with his CFO, he didn't know what my loyalties were and what my abilities were," says L'Heureux. Kaatz also didn't know what L'Heureux's track record was in areas such as delivering projects on time and achieving return on IT investments. So aside from the biweekly meetings they have together, L'Heureux has met with Kaatz periodically to discuss the rationale that existed for certain IT project and spending criteria prior to his arrival as CEO.

It's this kind of trust-building that has helped IT leaders such as L'Heureux develop and maintain strong relationships with senior business executives they either report to or otherwise work closely with to formulate company strategies. "The IT leaders that are successful at managing up are translating key business metrics in understandable terms," says Howard Rubin, a senior adviser at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. "What they're really doing is a lot of outward-bound proactive communications."

Lending an ear