A range of public and private sector initiatives have recently been launched to tackle the growing digital skills crisis in the UK. While these initiatives are very much to be welcomed, a key area conspicuous by its absence is the complete lack of focus on digital leadership development.

As well as a digital skills crisis, the UK is facing a crisis of digital leadership.

This was starkly illustrated last week in a hard-hitting speech by Lord Maude, reported by Diginomica.

Maude slated the lack of digital leadership at the very core of the British establishment; a lack of leadership threatening to derail the digital transformation of Central Government:

“There is a fundamental issue underpinning all of this, and it has direct relevance to digital transformation in government… As in most bureaucracies, the civil service culture is hostile to innovation… For every one person trying to make something happen there are four trying to stop it.

Once, IT suppliers were called in to see Maude and given notice that things had to change; now we have a digital minister who excitedly posts selfies of himself with CEOs of IT companies like a star-struck fanboy. Government today is one of the few remaining environments in which disruption is a dirty word. There is a bias to inertia. It needs to be replaced by a bias to action.”

There is a growing body of evidence highlighting the fact that successful digital transformation requires strong digital leadership. Given the strong link that exists between digital maturity and national economic performance, it is a legitimate question to ask – do we have the digital leaders to drive UK competitiveness in a post-Brexit digital era?

While we have implemented initiatives to tackle the digital skills crisis, who is developing the digital leaders of the future?

The Ten Key Traits of an Effective Digital Leader

Possessing digital skills does not automatically translate into digital leadership ability.

Successful transformation is more about changing people, organisation and culture than it is about technology. Digital is just the facilitator of change.

As a consequence, a new breed of senior executive is required – Digital Business Leaders; leaders who can combine high level business knowledge, experience and understanding with the ability to develop and implement digital transformation strategies fully aligned with and supportive of agreed business outcomes. Leaders who possess both the confidence and personal skills to drive digital-led organisational change.

With most organisations remaining woefully ill-prepared for the coming digital tsunami, does our management development and education system require a complete reboot to equip leaders for a digital future?

Leaders with the ten key traits below:

1. Hyper awareness of the external digital landscape; the disruptive technologies and associated societal changes reshaping your industry; the opportunities and threats presented for your own organisation; the gap that exists between your organisation’s current level of digital maturity and where you should be.
2. The ability to develop a clear digital vision and strategy for your organisation; a digital vision and strategy fully aligned with and supportive of agreed business goals and objectives, including measurable KPIs and targets.
3. Identification and prioritisation of the key digital actions and initiatives that need to be implemented to deliver agreed business outcomes; taking into account ‘external digital’, the use of digital for sales, marketing and customer experience management; ‘internal digital’, the use of digital to improve internal efficiency, reduce costs, building an agile, fast moving, responsive organisation; and where appropriate, initiatives to transform your underlying business model. Strong digital governance skills to prevent a proliferation of uncoordinated initiatives across the organisation.
4. The ability to win senior management/board support, commitment and resource to drive organisational transformation. The active support of the most senior people in your organisation is critical to the successful implementation of digital change programmes.
5. Strong project and programme management skills. The ability to deliver change ‘on time within budget’ using best practice project management approaches appropriate to the specific organisation in question. The tenacity to keep transformation programmes on target, being relentless and totally focused on agreed outcomes.
6. Change management competencies. The personal skills and empathy to overcome organisational, people and cultural barriers to change. The strength of character to defend against a backlash when ‘changing the way things are done around here’. The refusal to be institutionalised. A clear focus on driving culture change as well as implementing new technology, creating an environment conducive to working differently. Fostering an organisational culture of continuous improvement.
7. Hybrid management skills (technology AND people) to break down organisational silos, restructuring the organisation around customer journeys. The resilience of silos is the single most important barrier to successful digital transformation.
8. A strong focus on performance measurement but with the ability to be flexible depending on changing circumstances; avoid over-reporting by focusing on a small number of key metrics critical to programme success.
9. Informed decision-making: The use of data, information and advanced analytics to deliver actionable insight and evidence-based decisions but without losing the creativity and entrepreneurial thinking required to drive change.
10. A future looking perspective to cope with the rapid pace of digital change taking place. Recognition that in a landscape characterised by rapid digital disruption, it is impossible to know everything. The willingness to be humble, adaptable, visionary and engaged with others.

As always, comment and feedback are very welcome.

For those interested, the next Digital Leaders Masterclass, in association with the University of Edinburgh Business School, takes place on the 16/17th November.