As a leader in the era of digitalisation, if you do nothing else ? take control quickly. There are options. There are multiple roles. If you don't make an active decision to react and do something different, the choice may be made for you.
This was the word from Ed Gabrys, research director at Gartner CIO Research, speaking on the final morning of Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2015 in Cape Town this week.
If leaders don't respond in time, they may find themselves relegated to a role they didn't pick, or worse, may find themselves irrelevant, he continued.
Digitalisation is allowing business units and other key stakeholders to take digital leader roles, which means the duties of chief digital orchestrator role have evolved and become more malleable, he said.
Gabrys cited the importance of determining the organisation's digital appetite. "Where is the business at today? What should your role be? Where can you fit? Understanding that will help you to make better decisions, assess your competencies and aspirations, and determine what you really want to do and how this ties into the business' needs."
He went on to outline some of the pitfalls of leadership in a digital business economy. He called on leaders to be more vocal. "If you are not out there expressing what you want to do and what you think digital can do, you're missing the opportunity. If you want a seat at the table, you have to act like you have a seat at the table already."
Gabrys also highlighted the importance of being vulnerable. Given how much broader this role is, most of us are going to be navigating a variety of new challenges and should be willing to ask for the help we need when we need it.
As business landscapes and business processes evolve, it is important that leaders not be afraid of failing, Gabrys added. "If you aren't experimenting, piloting, prototyping and having these conversations, you are never going to grow into this new role. If you are waiting for someone to give you permission, you will stagnate."
While he did acknowledge the role of technology in this conversation, he stressed the importance of tech should not be overemphasised. "Your focus must rather be on how all of these changes can help the business work better."
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