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
Many Premier 100 honorees say that the most effective way to develop and maintain strong connections with senior executives is to listen carefully to what they have to say and try to place yourself in their shoes. "It's important to speak to [business executives] in a language and with concepts that they understand," says John Glaser, vice president and CIO at Partners HealthCare System Inc. in Boston.
"I have a teenage daughter, and often our views of the world don't connect at all," says Glaser, explaining that he bridges the divide with senior business executives at Partners HealthCare just as he does with his daughter -- by speaking in terms they're familiar with.
Says Glaser, "You have to be on the same intellectual plane."
Glaser has been the CIO at Partners HealthCare for 10 years and has always reported to the chief operating officer. His discussions with senior executives at Partners HealthCare vary by topic. Budget discussions are held with the CFO, and meetings about strategic initiatives are typically held with the CEO, says Glaser. So what does he talk to the COO about?
"Major complex political issues that have to be resolved," says Glaser. These could include updates on the status of doctor/patient Internet-based communications capabilities that Partners HealthCare provides.
Glaser says he gets along well with the COO, adding that the relationship hasn't changed much in the past several years. "Over the first couple of years, a relationship is going to mature about roles and responsibilities. That stuff is going to sort itself out, much like it does with a spouse," says Glaser. "The core of the relationship is formed early, so from years three to 10, not a lot of evolution takes place."
Like Glaser, Katherine Busser applies listening skills she developed as a parent to the way she deals with senior executives. "I listen closely to what my children are saying and not saying," says Busser, divisional CIO for the U.S. card division at Capital One Financial Corp. in McLean, Va. She tries to apply the same listening skills to senior management to understand the kinds of challenges that they're trying to tackle.
Right now, that includes helping Capital One's U.S. card business grow and remain profitable. "[The IT] organization isn't bound to offering tech solutions," says Busser. For instance, one week in September, she spent time answering calls from customers "to make sure I understood their relationships with Capital One and how we can help them."
Busser believes that such rotational assignments throughout Capital One's business and operations areas have helped strengthen her understanding of the company's businesses and her relationships with senior management. "The ability to move around and take on new roles is one of the things that makes a strong organization," she says.