Quick check: 6 characteristics of digital leaders

Quick check: 6 characteristics of digital leaders

In order to qualify people as digital leaders, personality and social competencies are the most important factors.

Leading in the digital age is no longer what it used to be, as demands on digital leaders are becoming more diverse. Expectations are rising: digital leaders are supposed to empower an organization towards understanding holistic visions and achieving cross-departmental goals, enable experimentation and break thinking boundaries. They are expected to be experts in leadership, innovation, and collaboration. Their job is to provide meaning and purpose so that people will follow them even in uncertain times and be willing to move forward while leaving familiar paths. Thanks to their excellent judgement, digital leaders can make decisions even in unsettled contexts.

In other words, digital leaders are the Christopher Columbus of the modern age. They excel at anticipating the nature and speed of change, withstand ambivalence, and act decisively even when certainty and clear direction are lacking. They act effectively despite constant surprises and lack of predictability, deal well with complexity, and consistently respond quickly and flexibly to unpredictable change. They know what they are doing and exude security, consistency, and solid self-confidence even in vague times. In addition to their basic technological understanding, their social and psychological strengths are crucial.

What does that mean in concrete terms? What practical skills do digital leaders need to successfully and purposefully lead their employees and the areas entrusted to them?
 

"Analog" competencies were already relevant in the "pre-digital age" and have not changed in essence or content, they might have changed slightly though. These include the ability to change, to innovate and create specific value for the company. Change is the most important and greatest challenge for managers. Their fields of action are very diverse and include work processes, business models, forms of communication, organizational structures, strategies and, of course, leadership itself.
 

"Analogital" competencies were known before the digital era but have changed significantly in nature because of digitalization. These include communication skills, networking skills, and decision-making skills. Meanwhile, communication skills remain the top one competency. “Dialogic communication skills” (e.g., giving feedback or listening skills) are far more relevant than “monologic communication skills* such as storytelling or rhetoric.
 

"Digital" competencies did not exist or were of little importance in the "pre-digital age." They only became relevant in the context of digitization. These include transparency orientation, actual digital and IT competence, and heterarchy capability. Of course, the respective person needs an overarching basic technological understanding, IT competence, as well as in-depth knowledge of e-commerce, digital marketing, data science, or digital technologies. Digital competence is of course important, but not the most important factor.
 

To equip your organization for the digital age, you need skilled digital leaders to conquer and build new markets. But how do you make sure they have the right qualifications and where do you start? The first step is to find the right person for the role, because few people are comfortable with constant uncertainty. Digital leaders do not just passively manage change, they proactively seek and initiate it. This mindset is critical.
 

1. Digital leaders are experts in leadership, innovation and collaboration. They anticipate and respond to the nature and speed of change, act decisively without always having clear direction and certainty, and keep effectiveness high - despite constant surprises and the lack of predictability.
2. They have strong social skills, enable the organization to follow a vision, create conditions for experimentation, empower people to think differently, and get employees to collaborate across boundaries.
3. They are innovation evangelists, understand the multi-layered fields of action in digital transformation and are skilled in dealing with technical, structural, psychological, cultural and operational components.
4. They comprehend the potential of digital technologies to increase efficiency and focus their transformation efforts on customer intimacy and experience (rather than technology).
5. They are excellent communicators and master "dialogic communication skills" (giving feedback or listening skills) even better than "monologic communication skills" (such as storytelling or rhetoric).
6. They create a culture of change and institutionalize that change - clearly articulating connections between new behaviors and the success of the organization until old habits are replaced.

Need help qualifying or recruiting your Digital Leaders? We would be happy to assist you with our 20+ years of digital experience.