The survey from the two organizations is titled “Digital Transformation Readiness: Survey Summary” and it is based on a review of the collated responses from 100 European Vice-Presidents and Directors in human resources, leadership and development and talent management. The focus was on how organisations are preparing for digital transformation from a strategy and leadership perspective. The Center for Creative Leadership was founded in 1970 and it focuses on leadership development research and solutions; the organization CorporateLeaders is an independent network for corporate executives to network, exchange ideas, and to share lessons.
The survey focuses on the culture and types of leadership needed to see through digital transformation success within a company. Effective leaders need a clear purpose and to be forward thinking, in order to identify and execute the required steps for digital transformation. Good leaders will also be mindful of what areas of the business require fixing as digital transformation initiatives are drawn up. On the cultural side, a business needs to be open to change and much of this loops back to having good leaders in place. Some of the key themes are examined below.
Need for steady and visionary leadership
The survey identifies key factors that hold back a company on its digital transformation journey and identifies them as leadership challenges. These factors are, alongside the proportion of those polled who raise them as problem areas: Insufficient internal skills (55 percent), lack of a clear vision for a digital customer journey (46 percent), integrating new technologies (36 percent), and resistance to change (34 percent).
To overcome these obstacles, the report recommends that leaders identify and nurture those who are able to own
and implement these changes within their teams.
Leading digital strategy from the top
For digital transformation to work, employees need to see that those running the organization are committed and that they are steering things, according to the report. Hence, digital strategy needs to be led from the top, along with a strong clear vision. This needs to be accompanied by an inspiring vision of how digital will create a new future with shared value for the organisation Leaders need to create and provide a clear digital road-map for all employees in order to achieve the digital business objectives.
Innovation
A third area of importance, as drawn from the report, is with innovation. From the survey some 61 percent of respondents stated that their organisations are good at generating and implementing new ideas to improve performance. Moreover, 72 percent of successful of organisations have successfully implemented a number of digital initiatives which set out to improve or adapt the products and services offered by the organization. This places innovation at the hear of digital transformation.
