* Your function is seen as that of an enabler, yet you are also expected to be a business driver.

* IT can make or break a company, but you are not a member of the corporate board.

"CIOs must look at risk with a pragmatic lens, which is sometimes viewed as contrary to creativity and innovation," says Maurizio Laudisa, CIO of LifeLabs. "The cost of artistic creativity is often complexity and error; our delivery mandate can afford neither of those."

Your stakeholders

* You run one of the most pervasive, critical functions, yet you must prove your value constantly.