- Always be looking for another job - Don't talk to the CIO by yourself if you are planning to stay with the company. The team lead sounds like a simpleton who

- Always be looking for another job - Don't talk to the CIO by yourself if you are planning to stay with the company. The team lead sounds like a simpleton who thinks that he gains power from controlling your communication. If you talk to the CIO, you may gain a friend in the CIO but you are guaranteed to gain an enemy in the team lead. If I were your CIO and you came to me with good ideas, the first thing I would have done would be to run them by the team lead. Since the team lead would not be on board with those ideas, I'd think that either: a) your ideas weren't good; or b) you aren't good at execution of those ideas because you don't work well with your leads. Politics suck but they are a part of life. - Work with the team lead so that you both meet with the CIO to discuss your ideas. Use the meeting to present yourself to the CIO as more visionary/strategic in understanding the potential of the ideas. Frame the team lead as someone in an administrative role with respect to execution of the ideas. - Ask for a raise/promotion if you are given a green light to work on your ideas and gain once you prove that you were successful in implementing them.