The IT profession acknowledges its people quite poorly. I can count on one finger the number of times I have witnessed a celebration organized by an IT department to reward project success.

CIOs need to take the lead here to ensure that their star project managers are accorded similar rewards to those enjoyed by the top sales and marketing professionals. When was the last time a senior executive invited a group of IT project managers on a golf outing? At a recent CIO conference I attended, I asked five CIOs who had enjoyed a golf game at the resort whether any had brought along a high-performing project manager. You can guess the response.

One of the best ways to reduce the high rate of failed IT projects is to create a nurturing environment where project managers can thrive and make significant contributions. So I often ask CIOs, "Are any of your actions, or inactions, putting project managers in harm's way while you are busy rescuing the company princess?"