Digital Transformation: Understanding the Leadership Skills Needed

Authors

José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior, unisinosFollow
Patrícia Martins Fagundes Cabral, UNISINOSFollow
Rafael Alfonso Brinkhues, Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Rio Grande do SulFollow
Georgiana Motta Costa, UNISINOSFollow

Abstract

This research study discusses the relationship between digital transformation and the development of leadership skills. Becoming digital is a requisite for survival today. However, while waves of technology — automation, additive manufacturing, AI — are washing over the corporate world, redefining the nature of work and productivity, there are no playbooks and few best practices for manufacturers’ digital transformation (Moldoveanu & Narayandas, 2019). The U.S. military coined the acronym VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) in the late 1990s, and it has become general shorthand for conditions leaders may encounter especially in digital transformation context and leaders need to be prepared for many types of turbulence or upheaval (Schoemaker, Heaton, & Teece, 2018). Bennis (2013) highlights that to face the digital revolution, it is necessary to lead with the capacity to understand the use of digital opportunities, tools, and instruments from this era. Kane (2019) adds that the most successful digital transformations begin with a change in the mentality of leaders, who need to develop for this challenge. It is worth noting that the search for the improvement of leadership skills is not something simple, as it requires a constant rethinking about the paths and methods to be adopted in the challenge of enhancing the skills of leaders. According to Klein (2020) digital leaders have to lead the DT so they could bring the organization through Industry 4.0 by managing the disruptive changes by motivating the employees. This way, a project has been developed in Brazilian organizations that are in the process of digital transformation. Initially, exploratory field research is being developed to understand the phenomenon and after a quantitative study will be proceed reaching a larger audience to understand what the skills are required of digital leaders, what are the best practices, among other findings. Thus, this research aims to encourage discussion of this topic. References Bennis, W. (2013). Leadership in a digital world: embracing transparency and adaptive capacity. Mis Quarterly, 37(2), 635-636. Kane, G. (2019). The Technology Fallacy: People Are the Real Key to Digital Transformation. Research-Technology Management, 62(6), 44-49. Klein, M. (2020). Leadership Characteristics In The Era Of Digital Transformation. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(1), 883-902. Moldoveanu, M., & Narayandas, D. (2019). The future of leadership development. Harvard Business Review, 97(2), 40-48. Schoemaker, P. J., Heaton, S., & Teece, D. (2018). Innovation, dynamic capabilities, and leadership. California Management Review, 61(1), 15-42.

Recommended Citation

Freitas Junior, José Carlos da Silva; Cabral, Patrícia Martins Fagundes; Brinkhues, Rafael Alfonso; and Costa, Georgiana Motta, "Digital Transformation: Understanding the Leadership Skills Needed" (2020). AMCIS 2020 TREOs. 77.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/treos_amcis2020/77