The competence paradox
After almost 20 years as an advisor and leader in technology and change management, I recognize myself in several of the findings from Forte Digital's survey Forte Pulse 2024. The survey shows that managers and decision-makers believe they lack the necessary skills to handle digital transformation.
A large majority (76 percent) of the respondents answer that management lacks the necessary skills and tools to handle digital transformation. At the same time, 67 percent answer that digital transformation is integrated into the company's strategy. The finding has been aptly named The Competence Paradox.
I Forte Pulse 2024 takes the pulse of digital maturity among Norwegian and Scandinavian companies.
The journey towards increased digital maturity
It is gratifying that a majority of leaders share my view that digital transformation should be an integral part of the business strategy. But, how can you succeed with digital transformation when those who are supposed to run the processes and make the decisions do not have the right skills? The strategies are often in place and the work is well underway. Achieving this in practice is more demanding.
The journey towards increased digital maturity in a company often goes through some typical phases:
Most companies start with IT to give digitalization a boost. IT budgets are increased, developer capacity is built, and perhaps an internal "innovation lab" is started. IT is still managed as a "cost center" and treated as an internal service provider for the business. You may experience some increased speed, but not enough compared to the investments that have been made. The "business" experiences that development is too slow, and that IT does not have time to prioritize what is really needed. At the same time, the IT department feels that the orders are unclear, and that the expectations are unreasonable. A feeling often builds up that "things take too long" and that "development is always delayed".
Then many people hire their first product manager. This person often ends up taking orders, dealing with a backlog, and trying to disappoint as few people as possible in the beginning. Then you fill up with designers and start establishing interdisciplinary teams. However, these teams often struggle to succeed because the gap between business and technology is still too great.
Many people also start with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) – a very powerful tool – but often end up simply renaming old KPIs or activities. The effect that had been hoped for is not forthcoming.
Fortunately, many companies at this time have some so-called evangelists. These people have built expertise in modern product development and like to talk about the "Product Model" as an alternative to the traditional orderer/supplier model many companies still use. They challenge the organization and established practices. They challenge how to manage, budget, sell, and manage expectations.
Most companies understand that digitalization is about much more than technology. All parts of the operating model are affected, and no manager or employee can stand on the sidelines and let others take responsibility for the work. This can quickly seem overwhelming when you realize what it takes to really realize the potential of the business. For many managers, it also does not help to seek advice from their colleagues in the management team, as they often have the same questions.
3 steps to move forward
This is the situation I find many companies in today. The "burning platform" has been established, and the strategies are largely in place, but standing firm in the change and continuing forward when the reflex tells you to slow down is challenging. If you have come this far, you have still come a long way. Every business needs to find its own route. When you're in the middle of it – as a manager or employee – there are some pieces of advice I think can help companies move forward:
Employee: Find your sponsor in the management team
Employees with the expertise and ideas about what is required must find a sponsor in the management team. A product manager, developer, or designer can help elevate the skills of their own team. They can influence the way the team works to solve its mission. But your perspectives probably deserve a larger audience. To really impact the entire organization, you often need a person in the management team who wants the same thing as you and who takes responsibility for driving the change at a higher level. My advice is to identify this individual and start working more closely.
Leaders: Identify your digitalization evangelists
If you really want to make an impact for your digitization ideas as a top manager, you need to identify the evangelists you have in your company. Listen to them, learn from them, recognize their efforts and commitment, and facilitate their hearing, seen, and success. These evangelists can help you systematize your ideas and create quick results.
Find an external, strategic partner
A lot can be achieved with the organization's own resources. At the same time, a lot of friction can be avoided, risks reduced, and the pace of change increased by having an external partner in the process.
The challenges you face, others are guaranteed to have faced before you. Get inspiration, expertise and capacity from external experts. But don't just search for capacity. Find someone who stands with you in the change, takes responsibility for realizing your strategy and goals, and who is evaluated on delivered value. It is not the number of tasks that are completed that counts. It is the effect customers experience that is reflected in your results.
