Seven principles for leaders in digital transformation

By  Sara Hernandez

Ann Hellenius was one of the keynote speakers at Comprend's "Sustainable Digital Transformation" event in November. She shared her experiences and knowledge and talked about how digital transformation affects the role of leadership and the overall organisation.

Ann Hellenius has extensive experience with digital transformation in both the private and public sector (with organisations such as Bankgirot, City of Stockholm and Ernst & Young). She is an experienced leader and has successfully managed turnarounds, digital transformation and competence changes.

During her keynote she presented seven principles and skills that leaders need to adopt in order to lead innovative organisations in the rapidly changing world of digital transformation.

Value-driven leadership

People want to work at value-drive companies, but the leader’s personal values are also of great importance. People follow other people and not strategies. To be the kind of person people want to follow you have to know yourself and your personal values first, and not be afraid to communicate them and be authentic.

Coaching of both humans and bots

The leader in digital transformation has to find new techniques for coaching in a new eco-system consisting of both humans and robots. The workforce consists of a mix of (human and AI) employees, subcontractors and gig workers working remote and as a leader you have to find new ways to reach everyone.

Focus on innovation

In these new teams of people working together there can be a lot of confusion on just how to work together. In order to be innovative we have to work with agile methods but everyone has different perspectives of what agile is. A leader has to simplify and be clear about how to do things and who does what in order for teams to move in the right direction together.

Knowledge about security and integrity

As we move into a more and more digital world, questions about security and integrity need to be higher on the agenda. As leaders we have to all be on top of this, have knowledge and be able to assess the risks and ask the right questions.

Understanding the power of diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion is not just a numbers game. In order to succeed and really work with diversity and inclusion as a means for innovation, leaders need to tap into every individual’s potential and give them the tools to grow.

Learnability

Everyone needs to keep learning and developing, not least the leaders. The ability to learn fast is a key skill.

How to be sustainable as humans and as leaders

Work-life balance is an obsolete concept, but we need to find strategies for both work performance and relaxation. Reflect on what your relaxation strategy is and focus on what brings value to your life. Be a role model for your colleagues and teams.

Do you want to know more about sustainable digital transformation and how Comprend are helping our clients navigate this? Contact us!

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