One of my favorite books – Unstoppable Teams, written by three-time Navy Seals platoon commander Alden Mills – is about building organizational success through leadership. I wrote a summary of the book and one of the biggest takeaways is: Success is determined by the ability to build and lead teams of specialized individuals who contribute their unique strengths in service to a shared vision.
“That’s what I mean by an unstoppable team, one that brings diverse gifts to bear on the team’s goals through a shared sense of purpose and a deep commitment to each other. You can assemble as many individual superstars as you’d like but they won’t become unstoppable unless they believe in each other and in their collective mission,” writes Mills.
One of the most impactful visions that organizations are focusing on in 2021 and beyond is digital transformation and acceleration. The partnerships that are formed to facilitate and advance transformation within the organization require both hard and soft skills that can meet the moment and integrate together to contribute to long-term success.
In a recent article published on Harvard Business Review, “Is your C-Suite Equipped to Lead a Digital Transformation?” the authors discuss the attributes of each executive leadership role and how they can best serve an organization’s digital transformation vision and implementation. In addition, the authors found that the search for tech and digital expertise was on the rise before the pandemic (59%) across a variety of roles.
Here is a summary of each role’s key attributes according to the writers:
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Digital transformation’s success hinges on the CEO’s ability to articulate the case for change and spearhead a forward-looking strategy. The CEO will need to shoulder a “hefty set of responsibilities within the context of a rapidly changing landscape.”
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – Called upon to lead company-wide digital transformations, CTOs must be able to formulate new digital strategies, including identifying where value can be created through new technologies and the business. In addition, they must embrace a central leadership role that motivates and aligns employees to buy into new initiatives and technologies.
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – The CFO must operate as a hub — evaluating costs and benefits of technology investments and identifying areas for new growth and opportunities.
- Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) – Recruiting and retaining individuals with essential technological and digital skills is imperative for filling the internal talent pipeline. A CHRO’s ultimate role realization can come through as a partner in change initiatives and organizational culture transformation.
- Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) – Must shift to forecasting future development and evolve strategies to content with new content- and data-driven marketing (vs. mass marketing). CMOs must be comfortable multitasking communication platforms, online direct distribution channels, and their resulting immediate feedback.
- Board of Directors – Now the BOD must also include a wide range of goals and targets that involve innovation and investment.
An unstoppable team is necessary for digital acceleration and is founded in a deep commitment to the shared vision and building a cultural transformation around technological and digital skills and championing change and investment in a rapidly changing landscape.
