Sue Schade, CIO, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Chapter 3

When listing the traits of a successful leader, most people might avoid words like “impatient,” but to Sue Schade, being inpatient means refusing to accept the status quote, and instead aiming higher. “I like to see change; I like to see results,” says Schade, who recently spoke with healthsystemCIO.com about the winding road that took her to the University of Michigan, the steep learning curve all new leaders face, her crusade to get more women in technology roles, and what she believes are the keys to change management. Schade also discusses the balance CIOs must strike between being strategic and operational, her decision to tear down the walls and start her own blog, and what makes the CIO role both challenging and fun.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3



* Addressing the future IT workforce

* Take your kids to work day — “We’ve got a model to replicate.”

* Creating a supportive culture

* Her early days as a working mom — “Things have changed a lot.”

* ‘Kick your feet back’ strategy sessions

* Need for “diversity of views”



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Bold Statements

I have been aware my whole career that technology is a male-dominated field. And as I have risen in the ranks as a CIO in healthcare IT, I’m very aware of what those numbers look like between male and female IT leaders.

I got a lot of great response. A lot of women afterwards told me their stories personally, and a lot of men told me stories of their daughters and what they were facing in school and some of the career choices that they were making, so it resonated with people.

It’s having mentoring programs, as well as making sure that your culture is supportive and that you’re addressing work-life balance issues. I think that’s important for everybody.

As a manager on that team, I would’ve liked to have been in that conversation. Why did that conversation happen then as opposed to earlier in the day, in a more formal way, when I was there?

Gamble:  Some of your blog pieces have focused on getting more women involved in technology. I know that that’s something that’s a passion of yours, and I’d like to get your thoughts on that.

Schade:  Sure. In terms of getting more women involved in technology, I have been aware my whole career that technology is a male-dominated field. And as I have risen in the ranks as a CIO in healthcare IT, I’m very aware of what those numbers look like between male and female IT leaders. I first started focusing a little bit more on this when I was asked to do a talk at a conference in December. It was a one of those invitation-only conferences with about 100 people, and I was given the opportunity to do the opening keynote over dinner. They told me I could talk about anything I wanted to as long as it was inspirational and motivating, so I had a lot of latitude. What I decided to do was to talk about the future workforce and as I started doing some research and preparation to talk about the future workforce, I started drilling in on the challenge of getting more women into technology.

So that was the first point at which I really went deeper on that, and as I got up to speak, it was typical, probably 80 percent of the people in the room were men. I thought, ‘here we go, let’s see how this goes.’ I got a lot of great response. A lot of women afterwards told me their stories personally, and a lot of men talked to me afterwards and told me stories of their...