LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR DIGITAL AGE

2017 Gartner CIO Agenda Survey shows that CIOs are currently spending 18% budgets for digitization, and this will rise to 28% by 2018. CIOs across the board also identify Digital skills gap as the primary barrier to achieving digitization. As per IMD, 87% of the analysts & executives globally anticipate their industries to be disrupted by the digital trends; however only 44% believe that their organization is ready for the same.

One crucial aspect of organization’s preparedness is grooming of their leaders to support the Digital disruption. While traditional leadership skills continue to be relevant, these are evolving rapidly and adapting to the rapidly transforming business environment.

As per Gartner’s CEO survey, most companies acknowledge that digital change is a macro factor impacting strategy and most have decided to improve their capability acknowledging the fact that digitization requires a new kind of leadership.

40% of business leaders agree that digital leadership is one of their top challenges, 80% said they would personally need learning to be successful in the digital age – Gartner.

While technology understanding remains the key trait of a digital leader, following are the other traits which are consistent across most mature and established digital leaders –

1. Cultivate agile culture. Digital leaders cultivate deep risk-taking and an agile culture within their teams to respond quickly to customer needs. 80% of respondents from mature digital companies said they actively encourage agility and risk-taking, compared to just 23% from early-stage companies.
2. Always stay up to date. These leaders continuously scan their internal and external environments and stay informed about competitors, clients, and businesses they engage with. They listen to diverse voices and actively engage with stakeholders and industry experts.
3. Use data to drive decision-making. Rather than relying on instincts, modern leaders gather and analyze data from multiple sources to make informed decisions. Surveys show that data-driven decisions are 50% more accurate and reduce decision-making time by 90%.
4. Be forward-looking and visionary. Visionary leaders plan ahead of their time. While staying aware of present conditions, they define long-term objectives that help them disrupt rather than be disrupted. 50% of respondents from mature digital companies create strategies looking beyond two years, compared to 34% from early-stage companies.
5. Act as change agents. The ability to adapt is critical in a rapidly changing environment. Digital leaders inspire change within their organizations and respond effectively to technological disruption and emerging competitors.
6. Engage with stakeholders. These leaders actively engage with team members, customers, suppliers, partners, and society. They communicate their vision clearly and empower teams with resources to develop digital skills. 76% of employees in mature digital companies feel empowered, compared to 14% in early-stage organizations.
7. Be willing to unlearn and learn. Leaders must be humble enough to accept what they don’t know and flexible enough to embrace better approaches. They encourage out-of-the-box thinking and seek diverse perspectives.
8. Act fast. In disruptive environments, leaders must execute quickly and adopt a 'fail fast' mindset. Speed of execution is a critical behavior of modern leaders, enabling them to overcome bureaucratic and cultural barriers.

The ultimate aim of any organization in their Digital transformation journey is to achieve “Digital Congruence” which is the alignment of leaders, people, culture, structure, tasks and company strategy to effectively drive Digital transformation & address the challenges of a constantly changing digital landscape.

As per Gartner’s CEO survey, most companies acknowledge that Digitization requires a new kind of leadership

Although digital transformation leaders are just one facet of a “Digital Congruence”, they are obviously the most critical one as they drive all other facets of the same. Companies must pro-actively invest in developing Digital leaders which is a key to successful Digital transformation.

References -

Picture credits –

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