According to the MITSloane Management Review study, 93% of employees, in all sectors and countries combined, believe that it is now crucial to have a in-depth knowledge of digital technology in order to fully assume its role, but also to Know how to integrate it into leadership and to management.

The digital currency has become agility, adaptability and customer focus, managerial leadership and a source of inspiration for managers. Today, businesses have developed new expectations for digital talent and digital leadership.

In addition, company employees hope that the digital transformation responds more to their concerns and values, and is not limited to ensuring higher business capabilities and opportunities.

In many French and European companies, we see that employees expect a change in the values of their company, the organization of their work and a change in leadership evolution that better reflects digital transformation.

Digital competence inseparable from managers' leadership

It is commonly accepted that the success of managers depends on mastering digital technology. Today, it is crucial to have managers with digital skills in order to guarantee the future performance of the company.

This consensus is unquestionably in favor of the importance for high-performing organizations to assist their managers in the effective management of a digitally competent workforce.

On the one hand, managing a team encourages managers to improve their personal technical skills to improve communication with their team and achieve better performance.

And also, employees expect their superiors to be clearly committed to the values they transmit at work. In particular, equality and inclusion.

Managers must improve their own performance in these two aspects: technicality and openness, in order to promote more balanced and sustainable digital transformations.

The digital shortcomings of leadership

According to studies conducted on this subject, it appears that many companies are investing in the professional development of digital skills employees, managers and managers.

In other words, the training has actually been provided to employees who need it on a daily basis. However, we also see that very often, the values of the company have not changed to adapt to them.

Today there is a kind of digital leadership divide. Despite the recognition that digital skills are crucial for the success of an organization, managers say that their companies do not sufficiently promote the integration of digital skills into managerial leadership.

What are the foundations of digital leadership?

The collapse of the context is affecting digitally the leadership approaches aimed at rebalancing people, goals, and productivity. The boundaries between home and the workplace have begun to change in recent years.

Many combine working in the company and working from home today. The home office has become as connected as the office to the business.

Achieving personal and collective goals and affirming values depend on how authenticity, transparency, and accessibility are taken into account from a digital perspective.

The digital leadership is based on these main principles.

What is the impact of digital technology for leaders and managers?

Four elements are essential to successfully complete the digital transformation process. It's about awareness, adaptability, expertise, and leadership.

Making basic knowledge and skills accessible to everyone in the company is essential.

The aim is to offer leaders and managers the best conditions to meet new needs and requirements in terms of technology and innovation.

Adaptability is an essential quality to get involved in digital projects with ease while keeping your skills up to date over time.

To do this, managers and managers must devote part of their time to initiatives that allow them to increase their digital innovation skills. 

Individuals with a good command of digital concepts essentials (data collection, organization and classification of information, algorithmic processing) will be able to innovate and produce sustainable results.

In addition, the development of digital expertise encourages cooperation between departments in order to develop and test alternative value creation models.

Leadership in the digital field is a crucial aspect, as it is essential to carry out change. Training and qualifying leaders is essential to manage effectively.

Leaders need to play the role of change promoters, in order to ensure rapid adoption of new technologies.

What are the challenges of digital leadership?

The digital leader is aware of his ability to take a direction, he knows how to analyze his goals before achieving them and call on his team by surrounding himself with the most qualified individuals to achieve the objective.

In terms of digital leadership, the challenge is to take into consideration all digital aspects, to make them a strength.

Managers who succeed in involving all members of the company in digital processes participate in the creation of an innovation environment that promotes creativity.

One of the main priorities of businesses today is to understand and care for the digital communication process inside and outside the organization.

The digital leadership uses digital tools to improve business processes. The ability to stay connected is critical to the survival of organizations and the optimization of activities.

Leaders must ensure a connectivity while ensuring safety for true efficiency.

Digital leadership also involves the concept of remote leadership. You must be able to lead a remote meeting or to coordinate activities and exchanges using digital tools.

What advice can we give to leaders and managers to take ownership of digital leadership?

It is impossible for managers, just like leaders, to do without collaborative digital platforms and social networks. Especially because they promote the creation and maintenance of professional relationships.

Regardless of the leadership type adopted, managers and managers are all concerned about their online image.

It is therefore just as crucial to define the key performance indicators to lead an effective digital transformation as to determine which key performance indicators are at the origin of an effective transformation.

Managers need to consider how to deal with the challenge of harmonizing digital leadership measures effective.

They must also find and adopt the best strategies to improve their leadership in general.

To improve their digital leadership, one of the most appropriate solutions remains the Coaching by experts supporting businesses.

Collaborative networks and tools highlight the human relationships that are at the origin of power.

Les human relationships and organizational cultures are influenced by each other.

It is essential that leaders clearly accept and assess this reality. Leaders have the ability to use their interactions with others on these media to optimize their digital leadership.

It is essential for managers to examine the interactions between the individuals they manage, looking at the frequency, diversity, and density of their exchanges. Network analysis allows managers to measure how their leadership is perceived, both emotionally and technically.

In fact, emotional and relational intelligence are fundamental aspects of leadership.