Since then, Finley has enacted a standard requiring each IT employee to receive a minimum of 40 hours of training each year. The training includes elective coursework but can also include time spent by IT managers sitting in on senior management meetings.

One way to set a baseline for desired skills when evaluating outside IT management candidates is to consider the qualities of those people who have been in the IT organization for many years and are successful contributors, said Renee Baker Arrington, a vice president at Pearson Partners International Inc., an executive search firm in Dallas.

For instance, Arrington said, do the external candidates and some of the successful internal IT managers share common career backgrounds such as expertise in particular industries or experience working for midsize or large companies? On the flip side, CIOs should also look at "who has been 'voted off the island' recently and why," she said.

As the market for top-flight IT executives continues to shrink, Neal advises CIOs to seek out older IT managers with lots of experience under their belts "who still have a lot of gas left in the tank" -- particularly as demographic changes lead more executives to extend their careers.

He said that most IT executives are drawn to new positions through career growth, fresh challenges and turnaround opportunities. Increasingly, Neal finds that all types of executives are seeking opportunities where they can make a difference in the world.