The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is still relatively new to the industry. Analysts report that about 80% of current CDOs are the first to fill this role in their company, and 65% of CDOs have been in the role for three years or less. So what skills are required for this position?
Skills of successful digital leaders
Exasperated customers
The CDO is a business partner of C-Series and must demonstrate a deep understanding of the company's core business and how customers purchase the company's products or services. In most cases, the CDO is directly responsible for the engineering and product teams. Driving change with the customer in mind is the key to CDO's success.
Listen and communicate
CDOs are responsible for internal and external changes affecting people and processes, as well as the selection and use of technology. Internal change is often difficult and key qualities are a good listener and the ability to distinguish what is needed from personal goals.
Good CDOs can always evaluate, prioritize, and communicate the business value and benefits of new solutions. They also tell you what is needed to meet commitments and know how long it will take.
Build art from what is possible
A good CDO pushes teams towards the "art of the possible". Innovation, creativity, design thinking and user-centred thinking are key qualities to building something that didn't exist before. A good CDO is also comfortable taking risks and motivating teams to explore the unknown.
Foster a culture of change and recruit dream teams
An experienced CDO understands the importance of an intelligent and knowledgeable team. The best has a price and sometimes an attitude, but it pays to build a team that can think outside the box and is eager to learn. A combination of knowledgeable and experienced people pays off.
Working with groups
Digital transformation is difficult, which is why successful CDOs work alongside their teams and attend daily scrum meetings and backup calls. They detail and understand solution design and user interface and focus on implementing solutions. An experienced CDO also maintains relationships with vendors and others in the industry. They are eager to learn and good at networking.
Take responsibility and define success criteria
Good CDOs don't jump to conclusions; understand the presentation of the problem, evaluate different alternatives and carefully design the strategy and implementation plan. They know problems will arise, that digital transformation initiatives are full of unknowns, and that they don't have all the answers.
They learn from their mistakes, own them, solve problems and move on. This type of CDO works seamlessly with the team and always earns their trust.
Keep an eye on the future
Adopt new technologies (data, analytics, cloud, AI, ML, etc.). Don't look for shortcuts, but take the time to understand and use new technologies. Real scale and change only comes from courage and risk-taking.
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