Many CIOs and IT directors balk when they first hear of this concept of sharing ownership of IT initiatives with the other CXOs. Some of the most common objections are:

1. I will lose control! We'll have chaos!
2. We will lose quality in the way IT is executed, because a bunch of prima donna business people who have no understanding or experience with technology, will be hacking their way through a process that will end up degrading the quality of IT this company needs to be successful.
3. I will lose stature and credibility. I will risk developing the perception in the minds of the other CXOs that I don't know how to do my job and that is why they have to help me! They'll start wondering why they need me to be in charge of IT since I obviously am not in charge.
4. The other CXOs will not like this idea, because their plates are already full with their own responsibilities. They do not have the time nor the inclination to do my job along with theirs, so I could never get them to share ownership of IT initiatives even if I wanted them to.
5. If I tried to do this, they would view it as me ducking my responsibilities or as a tacit statement of my incompetence.

Actually, each of the above concerns is stated exactly opposite of how things will really turn out if IT governance is done properly. You will find the following to be true if you get the other CXOs to share the ownership of decisions about how to allocate IT resources:

1. Your control over IT will actually improve as the other CXOs more knowledgably and enthusiastically support your IT efforts. This is because you will now enjoy greater increases in IT funding, more stable funding, higher user acceptability of your systems and higher success rates for your new IT systems.
2. The other CXOs will help you identify big impact opportunities, improving the quality of your IT systems because of their impact on strategic business operations.
3. Your stature and credibility actually go up. The other CXOs now see you as more politically astute (read: "effective"), a better team player at the executive level and more competent at leading the company in the development and use of IT systems that make more sense for the business. They will begin to accept you as a savvy business executive instead of marginalizing you as a "just a techie."
4. The other CXOs will start to see that the more they participate in IT resource allocation, the more IT will be able to benefit them and help them accomplish their business objectives.
5. You will get your seat at the table — and be welcomed as an equal among the other CXOs.

If you are up to speed on what IT alignment is all about, then you understand the importance of getting the other CXOs involved in the process. Some CIOs are struggling with how they are going to get the other CXOs to do their part in the IT alignment process so it can reach its full potential in their company. IT governance is the answer.

Dr. Richard L Routh is the director of the Institute for CIO Excellence and a full-time faculty member at the University of South Carolina Upstate in the Department of Informatics.