The Grill: Larry Bonfante

Computerworld - Larry Bonfante, CIO of the U.S. Tennis Association, has shared his insight on what it takes to successfully lead an IT organization, through various speaking engagements, his work with the Society for Information Management and his executive coaching practice, CIO Bench Coach. Bonfante recently added one more outlet to the list: He published his first book, Lessons in IT Transformation: Technology Expert to Business Leader, in April. For the past 29 years, Bonfante has held executive leadership positions in various fields, including the financial, pharmaceutical and nonprofit sectors. He was also one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders in 2009.

You've certainly been a visible CIO, and you've already shared your thoughts publicly. Why write a book? This is my second year doing executive coaching, and it's become obvious to me that there's a pressing need for leadership development for CIOs and aspiring CIOs. I learned [to be a CIO] the hard way -- by making mistakes and picking myself up and dusting myself off -- but there doesn't seem to be a lot of that kind of information out there. So there's a need for it, and I have a desire to share with people so they don't make the same mistakes. The easiest way for me to capture a broad audience was in a book.

What are the most common mistakes that IT leaders make? A lot of IT leaders are very effective managers of projects and technology. They've got that skill set, but they don't necessarily have the human dynamics, such as inspiring people with a compelling vision, communication skills, marketing skills, the ability to effectively partner with their C-level colleagues, developing their people -- all the human things so critical for success in the 21st century. Many CIOs come from the IT ranks, where there's an emphasis on hard skills, but the human element doesn't come naturally to them.

What do you mean by the "human side of IT leadership"? Working with people to develop a shared vision, working with your counterparts in the organization to drive business value, being an effective communicator, being an effective marketer, being an effective relationship manager, working to develop human capital to make sure they're growing professionally, partnering with other professionals. These characteristics aren't intuitive. It's not something that most people are adept at out of the gate.