A Few Minutes on the
Couch With Dr. Dooley
By
DENISE POWER
One
might presume Richard Dooley's unusual take on the CIO psyche might have
something to do with his move last month from bustling Chicago to a scenic
vista in New England. But those who know the former banking CIO, co-founder
of the Society for Information Management, Chicago, and founder of The Dooley
Group in Centerville Mass., would disagree that his tranquil new environs
have much to do with it.
Degreed in philosophy
and English, plus an MBA, Dooley has long been revered as a CIO leadership
guru following a 17-year career at First National Bank of Chicago. A few
minutes with Dooley reveal some unique perspectives about what's missing in
many CIOs today as they try to gain influence on strategy.
It
seems like the idea of executive coaching is losing its stigma. Why is that?
What are the problems CIOs are looking to overcome?
Lots of
people are using executive coaches to get the soft and hard skills. The work
is so engrossing today. You could work 168 hours a week and still not get
finished. It's not a question of working harder or smarter. You have to
figure out how to get the spiritual side of man. I'm not talking about
religion; I mean being reflective, meditative, being able to relax. Real
reflection is not easy to do. People are lined up to see you, you are
canceling meetings and there's still not enough time.
What
are you suggesting?
I do Tai
Chi, but you could take a walk in the forest or just close your door and take
deep breaths and clear your mind. Allow your subconscious to bubble things
up. These could be things you missed in a meeting, things that haven't been
given any time to surface. Some think this is the luxury of those without
enough to do.
But
how does this help a CIO perform better, be responsive and make better
decisions?
It gets
you out of your own view. It gives you a broader view, a deeper view. If you
don't have what I call this new view, then you are liable to sink back into
anger, impatience and your own understanding, rather than what is needed.
It's a tuning of the ears. You don't get that tuning if you go through life
with your head down like you are looking for something under the desk. You
have to have that tuning to be effective.
People
don't know how to articulate what they want. A 5-year-old [who wants a
cookie] doesn't go to mother and say, 'I would like some Grand Marnier and
mix it with flour and mix it in with egg whites. It's the same with
executives. If you are not patient, and don't have the sense to fill in the
blanks, you don't know what they are saying.
In
agrarian society, normal life used to provide reflection. You're plowing in a
field and pause to look to the sky. The business vibration of today does not
leave time for this.