What's a CIO really do?: Job Shadowing at GE Capital

Have you ever wondered what a CIO does on a day-to-day basis?  What their priorities are, what their vision for the business is, what concerns keep them up at night?  Well, you’re not the only one.  Over the past years, GE Capital IMLPs have been voicing their desire to get more exposure to senior management and have more one-on-one time with top GE professionals.  Seeing this, GE Capital IMLPs engaged in best-practice sharing with other GE leadership programs and, from it, a new GE Capital IMLP initiative was born… IMLP Job Shadowing.

So, what does job shadowing mean at GE Capital?  Well, it’s pretty much like it sounds really.  Each IMLP is given a chance once a rotation to follow around their business’s CIO or other senior IT professional for a full or half-day.  However, this doesn’t mean that you simply get to watch from afar as he/she does his/her job.  Quite the opposite in fact.  Job shadowing gets you involved in the day, allowing you to actively participate in strategic-level meetings, project tollgate reviews, and conference calls with upper management.

In addition to getting this out-of-the-ordinary experience and exposure, job shadowing allows IMLPs to connect with their CIO on a personal level… learning about their families, hopes, dreams, drive, vision, etc.  And where better to get personalized career advice than from someone who’s already worked his or her way up in the organization?  Job shadowing goes beyond a simple networking opportunity, offering a real learning opportunity to IMLPs and giving them a glimpse of what it really looks and feels like to be in a CIO’s shoes.

Though the job shadowing program is currently only done within GE Capital, it has met with rave reviews thus far.  This success has spurred discussion amongst other businesses as well and could work to expand the program beyond GE Capital in the future.  However, this is a great example of how each business’s IMLP program brings something different and special to the table.  Each business's IMLP program, though a fully integrated part of the whole, is it’s own community with it’s own special aspects.  A tight knit family with ties that connect you to countless others throughout the company and roots that spread to the most senior of GE officers.