Advising my future self regarding digital leadership is an interesting and insightful project for two reasons. First, there is the information that is being provided that my future self can use regarding digital leadership, and the process of figuring out what aspects of digital leadership or digital transformation is intriguing enough to me now to want to include in the letter. The second aspect is more interesting in that it deals with knowing myself well enough to determine what weaknesses or challenges I might have in the future and refining the selection of information from the first step to those expected needs-based. Without that second aspect, knowing myself and guessing what challenges I might face, this letter would be nothing more than a review of all of the information our class has presented. Instead, to refine the information to that which should be most worthwhile, it’s important to understand oneself and predict in what ways my future self might need and value the different information from this course.
To meet the page count demands for this assignment, it’s necessary to start with an understanding of the type of digital leader I am, as well as the challenges and expected challenges I might run up against in the future. The next step would be to provide the digital solutions that might best allow me to meet and overcome those challenges. Having been through several leadership training courses, and having been provided several opportunities to discuss areas where I’m stronger versus those where I need more work, I can say that as a leader (a) I tend to not communicate excessively especially in regards to inter-departmental communication, (b) I work toward the finish line tenaciously, with a sprint style, deadline-oriented approach, and (c) I tend to have a hard time trusting others to do work that I think I can do myself. These are all leadership weaknesses that I have to address, but none of these are so negative that they cannot be overcome with digital solutions or tools to help compensate for them.
Knowing these characteristics of my ability to lead and challenges to leadership, what would I write my future self about digital leadership and digital transformation opportunities that would help the future me overcome these potential challenges? First, I would advise my future self to be more open and allow other departments into my plans. Thinking strategically is a hallmark of leadership over management (Avrin, 2019). The same is true for digital leadership, it just tends to be more focused on digital technology, transformation, and innovation. Opening up my communications and projects to inputs from more departments can only help my organization and might actually help other departments leverage the digital innovations that I might try to implement. Therefore, the first thing I would tell my future self is to open up and be more strategic in my thinking by including more departments and communicating more rather than less often to them. This openness will benefit the organization.
The second thing I would tell my future self is that I need to be more agile, even if this means changing deadlines. I need to understand that being first to the market may help get early adopters, but the solution may not be the best if it is rushed, so it might be better to go slower and get it right. Additionally, as Tett states silos exist “because people become creatures of their environment, and the problems with that end up risking big dangers because of tunnel vision but also risking big opportunities” (The Street, 2015). Part of being agile does not only mean being more flexible, but it's also breaking out of silos and being more agile in my thinking. This is in line, but a slight tweak from my first piece of advice about being more strategic in my thinking. Grajek and Reinitz (2019) note that digital transformation "requires agile and flexible leaders at all levels" (para. 3) and as Newman (2017) states, "In today’s market, not only is change happening quickly, it is forcing businesses themselves to change quickly. It’s a constant flow of innovation, disruption — and sometimes chaos — that is moving us ahead, even faster than we ever imagined. Many say agility is the key to surviving in the age of technological hairpin turns" (p. 1). Strictness, hard and fast boundaries, and solid structures can be the enemy of innovation and agility, and having a more open and agile mindset will benefit the organization and the employees I lead.
The final piece of advice I would give my future self is that I need to allow others to do more. My challenge of thinking that I can do things better than anyone else actually suppresses innovation that might come from other areas. As Towers-Clark (2020) writes, "by solving this issue of trust, they will not only be able to move to a more remote model but gain the confidence they need to push ahead with digital transformation projects" (para 3). A greater variety of input and thought will lead to deeper, richer solutions than those that might only come from my head. By allowing others to develop and support digital transformation and lead digital innovation projects, the organization will benefit from a more varied and hopefully broader-ranging series of potential solutions.
All of these pieces of advice that I've given my future self deal in some way with opening up and being more open to ideas that are not my own. In the interview project completed for this class on Digital Leadership, both of the managers of my departments said when answering the questions "What are qualities that digital leadership should possess?" that digital leaders need "to be open to new ideas" (Health and Safety Council, 2022). All of the above advice centers around being open to new ideas, either from others around me, from other departments, or by being more agile and open.
References
Avrin, D. (2019). Are you a tactical or strategic thinker? Management Skills Resource, Inc. https://managementskillsinc.com/2019/12/10/are-you-a-tactical-or-strategic-thinker/
Grajek, S., & Reinitz, B. (2019, July 8). Getting ready for Digital Transformation: Change Your Culture, workforce, and Technology. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/7/getting-ready-for-digital-transformation-change-your-culture-workforce-and-technology
Health and Safety Council. (2022, May 16). Digital leadership interviews project. https://ksuemailprod-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/rgh8373_ksu_edu/EtpSEXFzu9NJuMgRcJeA7EMBLaubfCfw0uKKHRCrW5wvig?e=1OuOok
Newman, D. (2017, April 18). Agility is the key to accelerating digital transformation. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/04/18/agility-is-the-key-to-accelerating-digital-transformation/?sh=1bdf1ca17277
Towers-Clark, C. (2020, July 22). Trust is A keystone of digital transformation. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/charlestowersclark/2020/07/22/trust-is-a-keystone-of-digital-transformation/?sh=4a33135476e2
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