In my last post I defined digital leadership as a leader’s approach to ensure the quality and functionality of engagement and interaction, of collaboration and communication, of accountability and data collection. In general, the leader must communicate the purpose and direction of the group and guide how to get to that point. The digital leader communicates this through the use of digital tools. But before leading digitally, the leader must become proficient in certain areas.
The leader must become fluent in digital tools. No, this does not mean leaders must constantly be updating social sites. It means understanding their place and how to “integrate digital thinking into everyday management” (IESE, 2013). In addition to keeping oneself fluent, the leader must develop new capabilities and ensure that all employees are developing their own digital skills. If the employees know how to use the tools the company is on track to become digital and will begin to reap the benefits.
The leader must understand how technology is transforming society, and translate this into business impact. This is essentially what leaders do- they foresee how things can impact the organization and they steer it forward. The social media tools make collaborative projects easy today. More collaborative environments should be promoted, especially across job functions. Use technology to break down the silos that exist. It is amazing what new ideas come through.
It is important for the leader to understand and use the information, not just the tools. The tools will bring more data than ever to the company or classroom; how this data is used is determined by the leader. And how it is used will determine where the organization is headed so a clear direction is essential.
Professor Zamora points out, “Digital permeates the whole organization and impacts all phases… therefore “IT departments can no longer be treated in isolation, nor can technology be regarded as a discrete business area” (IESE, 2013). Everyone in the organization becomes tied to the IT department. This may mean a shift in logistics for the department or other movements within to highlight IT. But technology is the heart of digital and the IT department will keep it pumping.
All this technology is overwhelming. And technology changes fast. How can one person keep on top of all of it and successfully navigate a business or institution? They can’t. Good leaders know this and realize that a team must be brought together. Mel Ross names those with three key skill sets to form this “coalition of power, skill and vision” of technology. He says you need “someone who knows technology, someone who knows communication, and someone who knows about people and culture” (2014). The first two are obvious, but an expert on people and culture? Yes, because transformation into digital means diving into the cultural experiences and capitalizing on what people want. Choosing the wrong data can turn the organization in the wrong direction. Someone who understands the culture and the technology can steer and transform messaging.
This post focused on the leader and what he or she must know about technology to transform the organization into a leader in the digital world. The leader must be proficient in technology, enough to use the tools and understand the power of where they can take the company. The leader must use the information to steer the company in the right direction towards his or her vision. These are big and difficult tasks and often it helps to break down these into smaller bits. In my next post I’ll continue on the role of the digital leader and describe how to conquer the huge role of digital leader in slightly smaller steps.
References:
IESE Business School. 2013. How to be a digital leader, Forbes, Education. Electronically retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2013/08/23/how-to-be-a-digital-leader/.
Ross, M. 2014. Digital leadership? Or leadership in a digital world? Business 2 Community, Leadership. Electronically retrieved December 12, 2015 from
http://www.business2community.com/leadership/
Katherine Senko 