Organisations should focus on fostering strong leadership to guide digital transformation rather than just prioritising the technology itself, experts told an online seminar yesterday.
Porntip: Leaders should inspire trust among their own people
PacRim Group and digital-upskilling company Skooldio co-hosted the seminar on the theme of "Synergising Digital transformation with People Leadership to Achieve Breakthrough in 2022".
The speakers agreed that before moving forward with digital transformation, business leaders should focus on developing strong human resources to improve the chances of their company's success.
Porntip Iyimapun, the CEO and founder of PacRim Group, cited four key challenges that most companies face when going digital: trust, clarity, alignment and people.
"Trust concerns the fear of change, slow adaptation, poor collaboration, and the speed of change.
"Clarity relates to the unclear direction and strategy of the organisation, ambiguity and priorities, unshared commitment and poor communication," she said.
"Alignment refers to the organisation itself, such as its structure, the quality of data, misalignment and resource allocation, its bureaucracy or a silo system," she added.
"People means the leadership's mindset and skillset, agility in terms of learning and the team's agility, as well as the working culture and level of engagement."
She suggested four solutions, starting with leaders who can inspire their teams.
"They should self-reflect on what kind of leader they want to be, and how much credibility they have to lead the digital transformation during this era," Mrs Porntip said.
"If they find the answer, they need to fill the gaps in terms of whatever they are lacking.
"If they still use an old style of leadership, the younger generation won't listen to them."
Leaders need a clear purpose regarding the work they do and the direction in which the organisation should be heading, she said.
"This is because each employee may have different visions, priorities and ideas about what they want to achieve, so leaders need to make sure they are all pursuing a common goal to steer the ship in the right direction.
Any outdated systems that obstruct the company's progress and limit people's growth must be overhauled, Mrs Porntip said.
Virot: Leaders play role of enablers, ensure staff meet customer needs
"To live with digital transformation, what I have seen so far from my own clients, there are many of those who live with the old legacy, which is already outdated," she said.
"It's like having old furniture in a house that makes the house look messy, therefore it is necessary to tidy up.
"They should keep in mind that the environment and business model around them is constantly changing and evolving," she added.
"They cannot hold on too much to the past, otherwise they won't move forward. This will require a wide range of skills from those in charge."
Moreover, bosses should remember they work to serve customers, not to serve themselves, Mrs Porntip said.
"The boss should not act bossy, but like a talent multiplier," she added.
To be really successful, organisations must unleash the talent of each team member, she said, adding it is also the boss's job to identify different people's strengths and capitalise on them.
"As I can see so far, the majority of organisations have unleashed only 50% of each staff member's potential, especially the younger ones," she said.
"The leaders should allow them to unleash their full potential, otherwise they will fly away.
"It would be a pity if the HR manager had worked so hard to find young talents, only to use half of their potential. The leaders should build a suitable ecosystem for them."
Virot Chiraphadhanakul, Skooldio's managing director, said the foundations were being laid for leaders who excel at managing digital transformation, but there was still a long way to go.
He said bosses should not only put the customer first but work harder to identify their needs.
Secondly, effective digital transformation is the responsibility of everyone in the organisation, meaning the whole team must have the skills and know-how to help their company adapt to the digital age, he said.
"The No 1 industry in the world is the software industry. For example, the majority of Airbnb staff members are not cleaners or housewives, but software engineers," Mr Virot said.
"So people should realise the traditional working structure is gradually changing and some jobs are going to disappear. About 50% of the workforce is going to need to be reskilled," he added.
"Digital transformation begins with you. There's no need to wait for someone else to initiate it, or start doing it gradually. Everyone has to get started."
Successful workers will increasingly need to keep track of changing trends and mountains of data in order to move up the corporate ladder, Mr Virot said.
"I always congratulate those who can reach the executive level as they can predict the trends 95% accurately."
"However, they need to accept that those trends or facts that they could predict will expire very quickly in this era, especially in the area of consumer behaviour."
Working in silos is incompatible with the digital age as speed and uncertainty are the new normal, Mr Virot said.
"Agility and an adaptive mindset are also becoming more crucial. Leaders must play the role of enabler, not the commander, as it's not having to deal with the real situation on the ground, but rather their staff. Their job is to make sure their staff can meet customers' needs."
Mr Virot said no organisation can grow without the support of talented employees, regardless of how strong its structure or vision is.
"As digital transformation is very new, there is a need to invest in talented staff for exponential future growth."