Leadership has identified and mapped nine digital leadership roles, spanning three themes — setting direction, creating alignment, and scaling commitment. Our latest study on digital leadership readiness in Singapore found that leaders in Singapore have low- to mid-level ability in performing each of the nine roles associated with digital leadership, revealing a need for all-around development of digital leadership capability. One area where Singapore leaders stand out, comparatively, is in their ability to encourage commitment to digital, as well as to create positive employee experiences with digital tools. This is critical to any digital transformation journey, which is often met with resistance due to the ambiguity and uncertainty involved. Leaders who embody these traits, who we have named Engagement Energisers, facilitate the digital transformation process by connecting with the community impacted by the transformation, and creating a compelling view of the organisation’s digital future. Engagement Energisers are internal champions of digital transformation efforts, building confidence within the organisation to navigate change. To achieve this, close to 60% of Singapore leaders role model digital behaviours, encouraging their teams to embrace change by being the first to adapt to new processes. One area that our research revealed where Singapore can do better, is in grooming leaders who can take on the role of Innovation Accelerators. Singapore leaders scored the lowest in this aspect of digital leadership, with only about 50% of respondents reporting some- to moderate use of agile approaches for innovation — indicating that many leaders continue to be risk-averse, less ready to allow for and learn from failures.
Gearing up for the next wave of digitalisation: Are you ready? There is no doubt that digital is at the heart of the economic recovery. Governments and businesses that are more digitally enabled will not only be more resilient to future disruptions, but also far better positioned to cater to regional and global consumers and ecosystems. To thrive in the new digital economy, organisations have to start planning ahead, mapping out a blueprint for the next phase of digitisation. To do so, organisations must first gain a clear sense of where they are now
Fig 1.2 State of Digital Leadership questionnaire in their digital transformation journey and the state of digital leadership within the organisation. To evaluate the level of digital leadership readiness in your organisation and identify opportunities for improvement, you can complete the following State of Digital Leadership questionnaire or contact the Center for Creative Leadership to access the full Digital Leadership Survey (DLS). Depending on which of the 9 you need to focus on improving, access the full CCL report for the organisation shifts and best practices that will accelerate your digital transformation journey.
About the Authors ELISA MALLIS is Managing Director and Vice President, Asia-Pacific, Center for Creative Leadership; and ANAND CHANDRASEKAR is Leadership Solutions Specialist, Societal Advancement Lead (APAC), Center for Creative Leadership.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021
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