Every vCIO and MSP manager knows the feeling. A client’s server goes down, panic ensues, and your team swoops in to save the day. The issue is resolved, the client is relieved, and your vCIO gets to be the hero. It’s a powerful, validating experience.
But what if this “hero complex” is actually a sign of a failing strategy?
As explored in the book vCIO Rewired: Virtually Conquering IT Obstacles, a relationship built on reactive firefighting is not a strategic partnership. While it feels good to solve a crisis, a constant cycle of emergencies means you are not preventing them. This reactive stance quietly erodes trust and pushes your valuable vCIO services toward commoditization.
For both vCIOs and the managers who lead them, understanding and breaking this cycle is critical for building genuine, long-term client trust.
The Allure of the Hero: An Addictive Dopamine Rush
The desire to be the hero is a powerful motivator. The desire to be perceived as the hero solving the client’s problem and receiving gratitude can absolutely create a dopamine rush. This psychological reward reinforces the behavior, making it addictive.
- A crisis occurs.
- The vCIO uses their skills to fix it.
- The client expresses gratitude, triggering a satisfying dopamine hit.
- Subconsciously, the vCIO begins to crave that validation again.
This cycle is especially tempting for vCIOs who come from a technical background. It feels productive to use your hands-on skills to solve a tangible problem. However, this behavior, while satisfying in the moment, is completely counterproductive to the strategic, proactive relationship you are trying to build.
How the Hero Complex Destroys Trust and Value
Constantly being in reactive mode has severe negative consequences for the client relationship.
1. It Prevents Strategic, Proactive Work.
Every hour a vCIO spends on a reactive service issue is an hour they are not spending on strategic work. The book raises a critical question for managers: consider the “cost per hour that vCIO costs the overall managed service agreement.” When a senior-level vCIO is handling tasks a tier-one technician could manage, it is a massive waste of resources and a disservice to the client’s long-term strategy.
2. It Frames Your Value Around Problems, Not Progress.
When the client only sees you as the hero who fixes things, they associate your service with pain points and emergencies. They are not thinking about the strategic value you provide daily through stable systems and proactive planning. Your role becomes defined by problems.
3. It Leads to Commoditization.
If your primary value is seen as “fixing things when they break,” you are no different from any other break-fix IT company. A strategic partner who prevents problems is invaluable and hard to replace. A reactive hero is just a vendor who can be swapped out for a cheaper one.
Shifting from Hero to Strategist: A Guide for Managers and vCIOs
Breaking this cycle requires a conscious cultural and operational shift, driven by both the vCIO and their leadership.
- For the vCIO: Ask the “Jurassic Park Question”.
As the book advises, always keep this question in mind: “We spent so much time figuring out if we could, that we never stopped to ask if we should.” Just because you have the technical skills to fix a service issue does not mean you should. Your highest and best use is not closing a ticket; it is analyzing why that ticket exists and developing a strategy to eliminate it. Delegate and elevate. - For the Manager: Empower Proactive Work and Redefine “Success”.
Your job is to create an environment where vCIOs are empowered to be strategists.- Staff Your Service Team Properly: As the book notes, an understaffed service desk often forces vCIOs into a reactive role. Ensure your technical team is robust enough to handle the daily workload so your strategists can focus on strategy.
- Reward Proactive Wins: Celebrate the vCIO who identifies and replaces aging hardware before it fails. Recognize the one who implements a training plan that reduces user-error tickets. Success is not a dramatic rescue; it is a quiet, stable, and secure client environment.
- Share the Success: As Chapter 6 states, the vCIO is part of a team. The goal should be to “share successes and make the entire team, and the company, look good.” This builds a healthier culture and ensures the client’s trust is with the company, not just one individual hero.
A True Partner Prevents the Fire
The most valuable vCIO is the one the client rarely needs to call for an emergency because that vCIO has already built a resilient and strategic IT environment.
For vCIOs and their managers, the goal is to make the hero obsolete. Build a partnership so strong and a strategy so sound that crises become a distant memory. That is the foundation of an unbreakable, trust-based client relationship.
Is your team stuck in a reactive cycle? It’s time to rewire your approach.
This article is inspired by the practical, experience-driven insights in vCIO Rewired: Virtually Conquering IT Obstacles. Get your copy to learn more about building a truly strategic vCIO team.
