The No. 1 challenge among C-suite leaders worldwide, according to our recent research, is attracting and retaining top talent. But it's not the only hurdle businesses must face today. Members of our organization told us that the top business issues they're confronting this year are actualizing digital transformation, developing the next generation of business leaders and improving organizational agility. Where these matters intersect with the challenge of attracting and retaining talent, here are some considerations to help leaders navigate these needs.
Actualizing Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is very much on the agendas of today's board directors and CEOs. Emerging technologies — from blockchain to AI — are changing the landscape of global business, often disrupting entire industries. As a result, organizations are rethinking their talent strategies to match Business 4.0 priorities. Increasingly, business leaders understand that digital transformation is largely a talent issue. While having the right digital talent in place is key to transformation, it’s much more than that. It’s true that the digital mindset required for transformation doesn’t stop with the chief technology officer or chief digital officer, but now must span the entire C-suite.
To take advantage of the multitude of opportunities afforded by the explosion of new technologies, it's crucial that today's C-suite leaders define for their teams what digital transformations truly look like and the benefits they will reap for their organizations. In a study published last year, we at AESC identified that many companies have failed to actualize digital transformation across the enterprise because their leaders have not been able to clearly define the intended transformation and rally the workforce around a common vision.
This brings us to the importance of culture. To bring about digital transformation, business leaders must be able to inspire and nurture an organizational culture ripe for innovation. While digital savvy is important for key digital roles, a real transformation requires skill sets beyond digital that include vision, strategic risk-taking, emotional intelligence and agility. To be successful at creating a culture of creativity and attracting the right talent, business leaders must be open to fresh ways of thinking. We also know that diversity drives innovation, so for organizations that want to succeed in a Business 4.0 environment, diversity and inclusion must be top priorities for any talent acquisition and development strategy.
Legacy approaches and a resistance to change are some of the greatest barriers to digital transformation, and today's CEOs and board directors must think carefully about their leadership's ability to effect and manage change. The ability to take calculated risks is a key component of innovation and an important quality to look for in executive-level talent who can achieve digital transformation.
Developing Next-Gen Leaders
To thrive in a Business 4.0 environment, many organizations are shifting their scope to the next generation of leaders for the competencies and characteristics they need for success in a digitally driven business climate. A drive for digital fluency, agility and diversity means younger Gen X and millennial talent are being tapped for C-suite roles, while Gen Z begins to enter the workforce in increasing numbers. This is transforming the cultural DNA of organizations as they strive for innovation and embrace the business imperative of diversity in its many forms. Next-gen talent can bring new thinking and skill sets conducive to Business 4.0 — often including an ability to thrive during times of rapid change, an entrepreneurial mindset and a collaborative approach — but typically with less management experience than their predecessors.
Some critical questions today's C-suite leaders will want to ask include: Is the organization adequately providing meaningful feedback to its rising talent? Is the next generation of potential leaders being challenged and exposed across functions through collaborative projects that stretch their critical thinking skills? Is the organizational culture inclusive and do people feel empowered to speak up and make decisions, and secure enough to sometimes fail?
Today's organizations are composed of multiple generations and there are generational nuances to be understood. Empathy in management plays a much bigger role than in the past. The leaders in your organization today can benefit from coaching in order to best understand and leverage the abilities of next-gen talent. Mentoring also becomes important in the development of next-gen leaders. Today's leaders will want to look at sponsor programs that are inclusive and provide visibility to high-potential talent. Formal learning and development programs prepare the next generation of leaders, but they also play a big role in the retention of talent.
Improving Organizational Agility
The rapid proliferation of new technologies spawning the Business 4.0 climate creates difficulty for organizations to keep up with the lightning fast pace. Today’s C-suite leaders increasingly understand the critical need for organizational agility, being able to anticipate new opportunities — customer behavior shifts or disruptive technologies — before they emerge and shift strategic direction for competitive advantage. Organizations seeking to improve their agility can emphasize collaboration to strengthen the learning agility of their teams and combine knowledge and skills in new ways. In a Business 4.0 environment, the rigid roles and silos of the past no longer work. It is much more about harnessing the specific expertise of individuals for collective gain. Collaboration must happen across the organization, and that collaborative approach begins in the C-suite and must be championed by the CEO and board.
For a culture of agility to stick, it must be woven into the organization’s purpose. While agility demands speed and nimbleness, it must also be based on a foundation of stability. Having a clear purpose and vision shared by all in the organization allows agility to flourish while ensuring organizational focus for the long term.
As organizational leaders plot their Business 4.0 talent strategies, an outside perspective can refresh and challenge an organization’s thinking, lead to strategic breakthroughs and help secure competitive advantage in the marketplace. Not having a rigorous digital talent strategy in place is no longer an option, but today’s organizations don’t have to go it alone.
