Other IT organizations don't have many opportunities for younger talent to rise. Out of the top 200 IT positions at hotel chain Marriott International Inc., for instance, only three turned over in 2004, said Wendell Fox, senior vice president of Marriott's North American Information Resources Field Services. "If there's no movement at the top, there's very little room to move," he said.

But that could soon change as the aging baby boomer generation gets set for retirement. At Southern Co., the average age of some 1,000 IT workers is 47, and retirements can start as early as age 55, according to CIO Rebecca Blalock. For the Atlanta, Ga.-based energy utility, Blalock developed a two-year leadership program that recently graduated its first class. Three out of 24 graduates have already been promoted into business roles, she said, with another six getting similar opportunities.

While Palmer believes that leadership qualities can be developed, finding good candidates is key, too. As one of Palmer's mentors once said: "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig."

While some IT managers believe that the traditional "command-and-control" style of managing will hold sway in the years to come, others argue that change is coming.

"CIOs will need to lead differently than we do today," Regehr said. "We're more hierarchical in our approach." But with the democratizing effect of e-mail, instant messaging and cell phones, leadership will have to be "more about peer relationships in the next generation," he added.