The importance of strong digital leadership

The opening session of PEX Live: OPEX in Public Sector 2022 saw Nedžad Piric, director, digital transformation at EU Tech Chamber discuss the need for strong leadership in digitalization initiatives.

Titled Sustainability, trust and digital adoption: Why it is crucial to have strong leadership when approaching digitalization, the session discussed the qualities leaders need to possess to ensure effective transformation.

You can watch the full session below.

Piric explained that digitization is the conversion of analog data to digital data, while digitalization is a strategy for using digital technology that includes technology, people and processes. Digital transformation is transforming the culture of living and working while empowering people to deal with its changes.

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He then discussed how, while management is often KPI-based, leadership is a people-oriented role requiring emotional intelligence. To best manage a transformation program, there is a need to combine both, he argued.

“It is crucial to have strong leadership for any kind of digital effort because if you as a CEO, leader or owner of a company have doubts about digital transformation, regardless of how good people are in your organizational chart, I can 99 percent guarantee it is not going to work,” he said. “You have to be the most motivated about moving in the digital world.”

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Digital leadership should be made of the following seven elements:

• Challenging core beliefs
• Thinking about customers first
• Aligning with other leaders
• Being data-driven
• Empowering the workforce
• Leading by example
• Inspiring and networking with peers and employees

He concluded that to be digital winners, leaders in both the private and public sector need to embrace digital technologies, streamline decision-making, flatten their organization and build a digital workforce.

What qualities do you believe strong digital leadership requires? Let us know in the comments below.