It is about understanding how specific technologies interact with people, and setting aspirations, creating culture and building capability.Successful digital leaders challenge obsolete organizational ways and give teams the space to be disruptive and creative. Successful digital leaders also work in partnership with business and tech entrepreneurs to define and solve the most important issues.

Digital Leaders

Digital technology needs to enhance your processes and activities, and also what you are able to offer to your clients.Companies now need digital innovators to lead them or risk perishing under the growing wave of digital disruptions. They also need to communicate and share with customers and employees, to identify opportunities and individuals who will help promote change.

Digital Transformation 

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It's been 11 years since the introduction of the first Apple iPhone, and this may have been the catalyst that kicked off the digital movement in earnest. "Once everyone got iPhones, and once we started being able to do so much ourselves as consumers, we wanted to be able to do that as businesspeople too," states Shellye Archambeau, entrepreneur, tech executive, and Verizon and Nordstrom board member. In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&amp;v=hss2n6KQn9s">interview</a>, Archambeau talked about the qualities needed to lead a digitally transforming organization.
As digital transformation "is a term that's tossed around pretty freely," it's important to clarify what it means to the organization, she emphasizes. Digital technology needs to accomplish two things: "One to actually change how you operate the business, how you change your processes, your activities in your business your business model. The second part is it's also changing the value proposition of what you are able to offer to your customer or your client. If you're going to transform, it's got to touch both sides."
Companies now need digital innovators and champions to step up and lead. "In the digital economy that's now upon us, many enterprises won't succeed by merely tweaking the management practices that led to past success," Peter Weill and Stephanie Woerner <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-companies-need-a-new-playbook-to-succeed-in-the-digital-age/">write</a> in MIT Sloan Management Review. "This is especially the case with larger enterprises, which are particular targets of digital disruption because of their large customer base, juicy profits, and sometimes patchy customer experience." The key phrase here is customer experience, as Weill and Woerner say the goal of an enterprise needs to be the "go-to" destination of customers.
Archambeau has advice for people and companies that face the digital threat, and seek to transform the ways they do business. "Work hard to actually communicate and share what you see," she says. Identify individuals who will help promote change as well. "Look for the people who tend to be forward-leaning. You want to find people that are all in, and they are actively both supporting it coming up with ideas."
There is a common thread in discussions about digital transformation -- it's more of a new way of thinking than it is new technology. "Digital leadership is not about understanding specific technologies, it's about understanding people, <a href="https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2018/06/21/what-makes-someone-a-good-digital-leader/">state</a> Emily Ackroyd and Hazel Hobbs, directors for strategy and engagement for the UK's Government Digital Service. "It's about setting aspirations, creating culture and building capability."
Successful digital leaders "give teams the space to be disruptive and creative," they add. "Increasingly, leaders need to change the organisation around them rather than just work within structures created for a different age. That requires permission to challenge, try new things and learn from when things don't work."
Successful digital leaders also "work in partnership with others," they continue. "This is about working with business and tech entrepreneurs to define and solve the most important policy and operational problems, not inviting others in to deliver after the service has been designed." They are also "comfortable with ambiguity."


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<contrib-full-bio>I am an author, independent researcher and speaker exploring innovation, information technology trends and markets. I am also a co-author of the SOA Manifesto, which out...
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It's been 11 years since the introduction of the first Apple iPhone, and this may have been the catalyst that kicked off the digital movement in earnest. "Once everyone got iPhones, and once we started being able to do so much ourselves as consumers, we wanted to be able to do that as businesspeople too," states Shellye Archambeau, entrepreneur, tech executive, and Verizon and Nordstrom board member.

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The Most Important Quality A Digital Leader Requires

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Digital Transformation

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What is your digital maturity? | Smart Insights

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

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