By: Åsa Degermark
Many companies create excellent visions and detailed plans for driving a digital transformation.
Very few leaders create a plan for how to develop their leadership. The digital consequences such as speed, globalization and innovation put new requirements on the leadership to fully empower the drivers of digital success.
Do you have what it takes?
For leaders with more traditional leadership, it is important to understand and adapt to the new conditions that exist in a fast-paced digital environment. Fixed systems and frameworks need to become flexible playing plans and corporate silos needs to break down and become flexible project groups and networks. The leaders themselves need to let go of control and move towards a more orchestrating approach where daily tasks are more of facilitating opportunities, judge risks, solve problems and point in the right direction of in testing and trials.
With less detailed plans, the company culture becomes the spine of the company. Values and behaviors not only need to be defined and implemented in the teams, but also be 100% embraced by the executives and the leaders of the company. In the culture you also need to find the risk-taking part, where employees deer to test and fail to reach success.
A success factor for digital transformation is transparency and communication. It is important to make the progress and the learnings visible for all employees as well as for the external stakeholders. I also recommend all companies to implement an “constant improvement” mentality instead of a “change-project” mentality. This will benefit the company by more employee’s contribution to daily improvements. The human aspects of digital transformation have yet not been fully implemented. Technology is there and no longer a limit.
The only limit is the human ability to change, embrace new ways of working and re-skilling.
An upgraded leadership with a large focus on the human abilities is a key to success. If a company tries to put new digital KPI’s managed by traditional leadership – you will fail.
No matter how the world develops, a good leadership is always the starting point. Make sure you are ready.
Åsa Degermark is the author of the book “Digital Leadership – develop your ability to lead in a digital world”. She is a consultant working with digital transformation, leadership and communication.
