Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.

- The Imitation Game

You have had a number of influences in your life. Some you look upon with fondness; their essence is a part of the fiber of who you are. Others, you have distanced yourself from; what they had was for a moment, or perhaps, has proven to be false for you.

Influences are a tricky animal. We want the positive ones because no person is an island to themselves. We avoid the negative ones if possible, and even counter them when necessary.

Then there are the sneaky ones, more insect than animal.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is a time I take to examine the influences in my life. Why? Because despite my best intentions, throughout the course of the year, things shape me, and I’m not always aware of them at the time.

I take a close look at where I am at, what is true of me, personally and circumstantially, and I decide if I want those things to be true of me. If not, I look closely at how they came to be. Then, I resolve what I want to be true of me.

There is that word - resolve. The root of resolutions. One I prefer to see as re-solve.

What is true of you that should not be? What is not true of you that should be? How will you solve it?

I took on too many projects last year. How did I let that happen? I engaged in too many things that didn’t have the return on investment I had hoped for. Why? I allowed a couple of people to determine courses of action I wish I had back. What was I thinking at the time?

If 2022 is a breakout year, and it will be, what must be true of me? How will I re-solve it?

There is absolutely no reason why 2022 will not be your year. I step back and look at what is in front of us as a business and technology ecosystem, and I see it. You and I are primed for it.

We know the trends, the need for tech talent, the increase of AI, the preeminence of security, the prominence of data and analytics, the increasing architecture of cloud, and the need to address technology debt.

It won’t matter if you master all of these if you don’t master two leadership dynamics first. To make 2022 your breakout year, and to make it to the finish line that all these trends represent, you must prioritize two practices.

Stay Fit

I don’t mean physically, though that helps.

You work within a natural leadership fit. It is inherent in you.

As a CIO, 2022 will see your portfolio broaden. You will have increased access to the CEO, you will be shaping both customer and employed experiences, and you will dedicate more resources to talent development and upskill.

You can do all that will be asked of you, but you must do so true to your fit, the composite of your skills, heart, aptitudes, passions and experiences.

Show me a person working outside of these, and I will show you the slow build-up of dangerous frustration. You can learn new areas of responsibility. You must develop and protect that which is in you that got you here in the first place.

• You have plenty of skills, but you have a few that you have honed over time and continue to develop. Are you being pulled away from exercising them?
• You have a heart that drives you. Mine is inspiring people. I can answer to a number of responsibilities, but if I’m not helping a person reach their potential, I feel the itch of something being wrong.
• You have an aptitude, a natural liking for doing something particular. It is an umbrella under which you are willing to do other things, but without the umbrella you feel the rain of discontent.
• You have passions, the motivational fuel that gets you up and going. You can answer a call outside of your passion for only so long before the battery drains.
• You have experiences that feed into you, and that make you what you are.. You don’t need to repeat experiences. You do need to build on them. If you are working without a sense of “things coming together,” then you will sense that things are beginning to fray. Nothing about you is an accident.

Staying fit means operating within your Why, but not just why you work, but why you are.

You are a leader. It means you are incredibly competent. You have mastered a number of disciplines. You are well-rounded. Until you are not. Have you ever shot a basketball that had lost its balance and begun to warp?

It is about being congruent. As your portfolio expands, your person must stay true. You only have the ability to stretch your capacity if you keep your true self filled.

Say No

I take on too much. I have a strong belief in my ability to do everything. Saying yes is easy for me. Surprisingly, so is saying no, except that I only say no easily to things I know are outside of my ability or interest.

For me, the problem is that I am a vision junkie. I can see the possibility. And I really hate to miss a good party. I like to be in on things, especially a vision that becomes a reality.

Other leaders may not be vision junkies, but they still have a hard time saying a “right no” because of other addictions: people-pleasing, ambition, reputation, money. Add your own if I have missed any.

I say no easily to things that are a natural no for me. I don’t say no easily to what is tempting to me. The problem is that a yes to one thing is a no to another, even if I don’t intend it.

What do we say no to? Anything that takes away from your ability to fulfill a critical yes and stay fit.

How do we say no? By being very clear on what we are doing, why we are doing it, what is required to fulfill it, and the time in which it must be done for the sake of those it affects.

It will still be that someone with authority will insist on a yes, even after the facts are presented as to why it should be a no, But at least I had the wherewithal to say no to begin.

That’s important. No is a trait of strength.

I tend to think that saying yes is strength, as in, “Yes, I can do that.” At that moment, it speaks to my ability. In the end, it might speak to my stupidity. Have you ever wondered, “Why did I sign up for this?” It’s a good question.

I have had to face the fact that if 2022 is going to be a breakout year, then I must say no more. I already feel like Scrooge. But if I do say no, perhaps, in a strange twist of fate, my future will not be haunted by my past.

No is a stand I must take before yes can be a destiny that I can shape.

By the way, if I can help you learn to more effectively stay fit and say no, schedule some time with me.