Some Thoughts on the Challenges of Leadership in the Digital Age

Posted on by Global Leaders Summit Series

Digitization brings about a new need for competent leadership. Today, we’ll take a look at the most dramatic changes.

Leadership in the digital age will be one of the defining themes of Global Female Leaders 2017. If you haven’t done so already, we invite you to take a look at our 2017 agenda in order to discover every highlight of this year’s event!

In the digital age, competent leadership may be the most important skill any company can cultivate. Because digitization changes companies. It changes working cultures and processes, customer behaviour and corporate communications. It also brings about a new need for, as well as new risks of corporate communications. Let’s just look at three of them!

Challenge 1: Digitization changes the working culture

It challenges employer-employee relationships.

This challenge has multiple facets. On the one hand, workers demand a digitized and modern work environment. In private, most of them use smartphones, social media and consumer electronics that fit their needs. Of course they want access to the most comfortable and hip devices at work, too. At the same time, employment changes too. We can see more and more freelancers, armed with laptops and Starbucks coffees, who will do project work and move on to the next job thereafter.

It challenges the way we communicate.

Digitization also changes the way we communicate. This goes especially for the younger generations who prefer text messages of meetings, but who also have new ideas on hierarchy and teamwork. This brings about a new potential for conflicts within an organization, since the expectations towards work can vary drastically between the members of the now four generations that work within most companies.

In essence, digitization diversifies the means of, expectations towards and ways to put into practice communications and work in general.

Challenge 2: Digitization changes customer behaviour and brings about the need to stay innovative

This is a big one! Similar to the expectations of employees, the expectations of customers are changing, too. Customers today are all about personalized products, about subscribing to platforms rather than buying commodities for good. They also want to talk their companies on Facebook and Twitter, read reviews on their products and chime in when they have ideas about product innovation.

This brings about the need for organisations to stay agile, innovative and fast. It brings about a new kind of competition, namely the race towards developing the most consumer-friendly business models and bringing them to market as fast as possible. Most of those are also data-driven and demand a high level of cooperation between the different units of organisation. Also, let’s not forget that many companies are forced to bring in new skills and know-how in order to branch out.

In essence, this puts pressure on old organizational structures, forces us to dissolve the boundaries between departments and change the way they work together.

Challenge 3: Digitization changes corporate communications

Employees as well as customers change how they interact with companies. And in turn, this changes corporate communications. It becomes more transparent and has to become more honest and open. Within this big shift leaders will have to adopt new strategies in order to guide their organizations towards a digital mindset.

Original Story: The Global Summit Series

 

The Fearless Girl of Wall Street: A Look Behind the Scenes

Posted on by Global Leaders Summit Series

On the International Women’s Day 2017, State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) installed the statue of a Fearless Girl opposite the Charging Bull of Wall Street. Our colleague Ellen Comberg had the opportunity to talk to Lori M. Heinel, Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer for SSGA.

This gave us the exciting opportunity to get some premiere insight into the thought process and message behind the initiative, and of course you can read about it right here.

The Fearless Girl Raised Awareness All Over the World
On March 8, 2017, pedestrians in New York were surprised when they first saw it. Right in the middle of Bowling Green Park in the city’s financial district, opposite the Charging Bull there was the statue of a fearless little girl staring down the fierce animal. This was no coincidence; since March 8 is the date we celebrate as the International Women’s Day. The statue was installed by the Boston based State Street Global Advisors, the world`s third largest asset management firm. Their aim is to send a message about gender diversity at the workplace as well as to challenge all companies (including SSGA themselves) to do better in that regard.

The initiative was a huge success, as it created awareness all over the world and was covered by many of the biggest newspapers and news channels. “Had we hoped for a positive, strong reaction? Yes,” Lori told us. “But had we anticipated this huge worldwide applause? No.” After the statue was installed, Lori had to rearrange her schedule and got on a plane to New York right away. She told us, that she was basically in interviews and conversations for 48 hours straight. Not only with the news media, but with people from all walks of life! This goes to show, that gender equality is still a very important topic.

Gender Equality: Still an Emotional Topic
At SSGA, people are humbled by the fact that there was such an overwhelming global reaction. They received responses from women, as well as men from the UK, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Canada and many more countries. The Fearless Girl became an important topic for people of all races and regions, which goes to show that it tells a universal truth that goes beyond the reasoning behind a simple marketing campaign; that women need to be “respected for their diversity of thought and what they bring to leadership.” In that regard, the initiative succeeded in bringing attention to the subject in a meaningful and tasteful manner.

“The success of the Fearless Girl is due to the fact that it is a simple, yet powerful image that evokes a lot of emotion.”

“The success of the Fearless Girl is due to the fact that it is a simple, yet powerful image that evokes a lot of emotion,” Lori says. It is also a very inclusive symbol. The girl is very courageous and strong, but at the same time she isn’t threatening. Her youth tells us a hopeful, forward-looking message including an optimistic outlook towards the future that everyone can easily identify with and wants to be a part of. 

The Business Case for Gender Diversity
However, advocating gender diversity is more than a “feel good” topic, as Lori put it. But, moreover, it is even “more than a moral imperative”. She told us that there is a wealth of research data that tells us why diversity is a very important business factor as well. Studies show that companies with more gender equity in leadership just perform better. More women in leadership roles translate to less debt and faster rebounds after crises. Lori emphasised that “it is important to link the business case to the moral imperative.”

“It is important to link the business case to the moral imperative.”

The call for more women in leadership roles doesn’t only go out to other companies. SSGA themselves, though above the industry standard, currently have a board made up by 27 percent of women. Lori told us that, of course, they want to do better not only on the management level, but on all levels of the company. This is why they wanted to point out the issue in public, even though there was a risk of facing criticism for not reaching satisfying numbers when it comes to gender parity. Internally, though, many of SSGA’s employees feel a “sense of pride” because of the courage the initiative took. It took courage to address this issue while simultaneously exposing the fact that SSGA themselves are not perfect in that regard.

Looking Towards a Hopeful Future
Only time will tell how fast companies and society are able to move towards more gender equality. But the Fearless Girl was an important sign that the topic is still very important indeed. Therefore, New York mayor Bill de Blasio announced on March 27 that the statue – even though initially only planned a temporary campaign for a few weeks – will remain in Bowling Green Park until International Women’s Day 2018. And who knows? Maybe it will stare down the Charging Bull even longer. Because, in case you didn’t know, the bull itself was once an act of guerrilla art when it was installed in 1987…

At any rate, we hope you enjoyed reading about the story behind the Fearless Girl of Wall Street! And we dearly thank Lori and SSGA for the opportunity to talk to them. Now we look forward to seeing you at Global Female leaders 2017 – and don´t miss the chance to meet and chat with our advisory board member Deb Lorenzen, Head of Strategy and Data Governance at SSGA, about this great topic!

Original Story: Global Female Leaders Site

 

Bringing Google to the Next Level of Digital Maturity

Posted on by Global Leaders Summit Series

Speaking with Strategic Leaders at Google, Ari tells us about his experiences in the past and his new position at Google. Additionally, he gives us an overview of the digital trends in 2017. Ari has over 15 years of experience in Banking, Insurance, Education, IT and the Telecommunications industry across Sales, Marketing and Operations roles in North America & Southeast Asia. He has been the catalyst for Digital Transformation & Innovation globally and will be part of Global Digital Leaders 2017!

Ari, you recently moved from AXA to Google in Indonesia. We congratulate and wish you all the best for this new and exciting career path. What are your plans in bringing Google to the next level of digital maturity?

My ongoing passion is to have global impact by bringing all the amazing innovations that Google is building in Silicon Valley to Indonesia, making them accessible to all. I hope to bring the most value to Google by bringing regional market knowledge and relationships to the organization. 

How did your previous role and experience prepare you for this?

Having had the opportunity to transform traditional organization’s mindset to leap frog through Digital Culture adoption has really been one of the best and satisfying learning opportunities in my career. Now, I feel very lucky to join Google at one of the best periods. Google itself is currently transforming from a Mobile First to AI (Artificial Intelligence) First focus for the next 10 years. It is a humbling opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation while also having impact to millions of people.

How do you plan to leverage and push Social Media for your business in 2017?

Social Media will continue play an important role to promote most businesses in 2017. The focus on producing and distributing engaging and relevant content for customers will primarily shift through short-form and long-form video storytelling. We are also seeing the global rise of Influencer Marketing, who can also educate Brands how to master engagement and storytelling to its consumers.

What are the top trends that you see happening in 2017 and how will these trends influence the future of digitalization?

For a lot of companies, 2017 will be the time they adopt Customer Centricity or Customer Experience (CX) metrics to be able to show how their Digital Transformation projects have impact to the business. And at the forefront of Digitalization, we’re seeing the shift from Mobile First to AI First, made possible through the advancements in the Machine Learning field. The focus here will be on how services can be delivered to consumers at a very personalized level never seen before. Think of a Digital Personal Assistant that understands and anticipates each of its customer needs. As this technology matures, it can help organizations to be truly customer centric at an almost magical level.

 

The concept of cultural change emerges again and again in the context of transformation, in your opinion why is it so important?

Top Leaders in the organization have the most important role in creating an effective Digital Culture which actively engages their employees with a mindset for risk-taking, agility and collaboration. Driving Digital Culture is so important because it is the only sustainable way to adapt in an always changing environment and to retain the top talents needed to succeed.

What do you think is the biggest obstacle to a successful implementation of digital transformation?

In a traditional organization, getting Leadership Buy-In who only wants to see significant short-term impact to the sales bottom line will be the hardest to start with. After that is achieved, the next challenge would be creating an effective Digital Culture across all functions and levels in the organization.

What kind of people, skills and experience does a company need in order to succeed in a digital project?

People with High-Curiosity, High-Persistency and High IQ. In an always changing era “Intellectual Humility” is a must for Digital Talent to succeed. Companies need to think creatively to attract these talents through authentic and engaging Employer Branding campaigns which reflect the company’s core values and mission to transform through Digital.

“Companies also need to show their willingness to invest in these Digital talents and let them take short-term risk through transformation projects in order to win for the long-run.”

How do you see the role of a CDO evolving in the long-run? And how do digital leaders take decisions in a complex business context?

CDO’s is mostly needed in the early stages of transformation to bring a clear focus and deliverables, while engaging the rest of the board to foster Digital Culture and Digital IQ across the organizations. CDO’s also need to exemplify how data driven decisions can be used across the organization to make sense of complex business situations. In the long run however, it is debatable whether CDO titles are needed. What is certainly needed is CEO, CMO, CFO, etc. that have a high Digital IQ.

Who are your digital heroes? Why?

My Digital Heroes are leaders who defy the status quo and having successfully transformed the mindset of organizations, industries and even societies through ambitious and sometimes high-risk visions. Yet they are able to execute them excellently with agility and collaboration. Basuki Tjahja Purnama or Ahok (Current Governor of Jakarta City) is on his way to transform a clogged and an inefficient megacity of 10 million into a smart city by 2020. He is defining what is possible when e-government and technology empowered society collaborate together to make a better livable city. Elon Musk (Co-Founder of Paypal, Founder of Tesla & Space X), I see him as the real life Tony Stark, progressing technology for the benefit of humanity. How many people can claim that they make Sci-Fi ideas into Science Reality? Well, Elon can.