Glatfelter Insurance Group

Larissa Tosch

Shared Outcomes Catalyst

For years, the conversation between business and IT centered on one goal: alignment. We wanted technology priorities to align with business priorities, projects to align with strategy and investments to align with outcomes. Alignment still matters, but in today's increasingly interconnected organizations, it is no longer sufficient. Alignment implies parallel movement; entities moving in the same direction. What organizations need now are true business alliances; shared commitment to collaboratively achieve strategic objectives.

I learned this lesson firsthand many years ago.

As a CIO, I worked with leaders across the organization to create a comprehensive, cross-functional set of priorities. We brought together perspectives from operations, finance, claims, underwriting, customer service and technology. The objective was simple: establish a shared roadmap that reflected the needs of the entire enterprise rather than any one department.

After presenting the plan, a fellow executive looked at me and asked, "Isn't that like the tail wagging the dog?"

My response surprised even me.

"Yes," I said, "but this dog has eight heads and one tail."

What I meant was this: modern organizations are too complex for any single function to dictate direction. Every department has legitimate priorities, dependencies and constraints. The role of leadership is not to determine which head wins. It is to ensure they move together.

That conversation became a turning point. It sparked deeper cross-functional discussions and began breaking down organizational silos. More importantly, it shifted the relationship between IT and the business. Technology was no longer simply supporting business decisions after they had been made. Nor was IT attempting to lead from a position of technical authority. Instead, we began operating as partners united by shared outcomes.

This distinction matters.

Neither of the traditional models work in today's environment. When IT functions solely as an order-taker, it becomes a cost center, reacting to requests without fully understanding the strategic objectives behind them. The result is often a collection of disjointed solutions that optimize individual departments while sub-optimizing the enterprise.

Conversely, IT cannot be an order-giver. Technology leaders who attempt to dictate business direction based solely on technical considerations risk losing credibility and trust. Business leaders own business outcomes. Technology should contribute to strategy (and protect the organization), not impose it.

  Trust develops over time. Priorities evolve. Assumptions are challenged. Misunderstandings occur. Strong alliances recognize that progress is iterative. The goal is not perfection; it is continuous improvement in how leaders work together.  

The answer lies in alliance.

Building a genuine alliance between business and technology leaders requires three critical commitments:

1. IT professionals must develop deep business knowledge. Understanding systems and platforms is no longer enough. Technology teams must understand products, customers, external drivers, operational workflows and competitive pressures. The best technology decisions emerge when IT professionals can discuss business outcomes as confidently as they discuss architecture. When technology leaders understand the business, they stop translating requirements and start solving problems.

2. Education must flow in both directions. Business leaders should not need to become technologists, but they do need to understand the possibilities and implications of technology. IT's responsibility is not only to explain what can be done but also why it matters. The "why" creates context and better understanding. It helps leaders understand tradeoffs, risks, dependencies and opportunities. Mutual education transforms conversations from feature requests into strategic discussions.

3. Alliances must be formed with patience. Relationships are not built through organizational charts or governance committees. They are built through repeated interactions, honest conversations and shared successes. Trust develops over time. Priorities evolve. Assumptions are challenged. Misunderstandings occur. Strong alliances recognize that progress is iterative. The goal is not perfection; it is continuous improvement in how leaders work together.

In an era where digital capabilities influence nearly every aspect of business performance, technology can no longer sit adjacent to strategy. Nor should it dominate strategy. The future belongs to organizations where business and technology leaders operate as allies, jointly accountable for outcomes and jointly committed to success.

Alignment may get an organization moving in the same direction. Alliance ensures it moves there together.

For today's CIO, that difference is everything.