Life Conversations: Skills of a Digital Innovation Leader

Most organizations are keen to build digital innovation capabilities, and leverage emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Big Data, IoT, to drive better efficiencies. However, to build those capabilities, one needs skilled leaders and people. Where do you find them?

Either you bring experienced people from the outside or train your existing workforce. Both approaches have their merit, but neither is sufficient in itself. A combination of leaders who have the right skill set, while upskilling current workforce at the same time, is the best approach I have learned. 

You need smart, experienced digital leaders to set the vision, direction, structure, but unless the current workforce starts to work and think in new ways, digital innovation will fail. Broad capability building across all levels is a critical need for digital innovation to survive and thrive.

So as a company looks to hire the Chief Innovation Officer, they should look for the following ten skillsets in that leader.

1. They hire a few critical digital experienced skillset for crucial roles. They invest in seeding experienced operational leaders with these new digital folks. They blend book smarts with street smarts.

2. They explain the end state of a digital journey clearly

3. They set a common vision, language, and protocol

4. They focus on cross-functional collaboration

5. They drive rapid scaling

6. They allow active apprenticeship of folks on these engagements for broader learning and acceptance in the organization

7. They tie Transformation to every aspect of the decision making

8. They energize engagement through storytelling

9. They are humble and inquisitive students always

10. They create a learning environment that far outlives their tenure with the company

Leaders who do the following end up pivoting the organization to a digital-first, AI-capable, innovation machine.