In order to perform good leadership in the digital age, it is necessary to master all types of skills related not only to the management of new technologies themselves in a market that is already very unstable, but also to know how to act. and collaborate with workers.
We live in a time when there are five different generations living together in the business world, generations that think, act and navigate new technologies in very different ways. Not taking into account means not knowing what to expect from the beginning.
Next we will discover What are the main leadership skills in the digital age? all of them aimed at being able to move forward all types of companies and contribute to a good organizational culture.
The most important leader skills and abilities in the digital age
To be successful in any organization, it is necessary that whoever is in charge of everything knows how to exercise good leadership. In order to make any company an efficient, productive organization with great potential, it is necessary to know and understand how the market in which it operates moves, a market that, if before the appearance of new technologies, was very unstable, is now unstable. more in the digital age.
The current business context is changing, volatile, complex and uncertain Leaders and executives of organizations frequently face unknown situations, many of them causing great confusion and fear, a natural fear but which, if not known how to handle, implies ruin. For this reason, those who are in charge of any company must take into account the following leadership skills in the digital age.
1. Good communication
A leader in the digital age must have good communication skills, clear, direct and efficient. Whether executive, head of department or any high position, the leader must act as a kind of communications director whose objective is to ensure that messages and directives are transmitted within the organization in a complete way, reaching clearly and unambiguously the users. teams that make it up. A clear and well-emitted message allows the rest of the professionals to know what is required of them and what the objectives are to be met
2. Control of the sense of urgency
In the digital age Process execution times have been shortened because fewer steps are required This in turn has caused the final results to be ordered sooner since if a faster method is available there is no need for them to take as long as before. However, when specifying the company’s objectives and needs, it must be clear what the priorities are and what must be done urgently.
The sense of urgency must be logical and well measured and is an aspect that must be taken into account when making decisions There will be things that will need to be done as soon as possible, while others, although important, can wait. The leader must have good control of the sense of urgency, which must also be flexible, since on more than one occasion what was not thought to be urgent can become something that must be done now, with changes in the list of tasks. priorities.
3. Credibility and authenticity
A good leader is one who is credible and consistent with what he says and what he does. He must be honest with the message he sends as well as have integrity in making decisions. He must remain true to his own identity and experiences, including the values, beliefs, emotions, needs and goals that characterize him as the person in charge of everything. And that must be reflected in your digital identity taking into account which are the main nodes for issuing messages and where one is most exposed to public opinion.
4. Courage in decision making
As we can well imagine and more than one has experienced, the business world is not a bed of roses. On more than one occasion there will be hard moments in which risky and difficult decisions will have to be made
Although urgent, these decisions should not be made in desperation. There must always be a deep reflection process and the pros and cons must be taken into consideration, being consistent with what comes next.
5. Empathy
A leader is not a cold and calculating robot who only thinks about making the company work like a machine. The leader must have empathy, taking into account what the workers feel and think since his effectiveness depends greatly on their emotional state.
Frustration, disappointment and fear are feelings that can prevent a great project, which is perfectly possible, from moving forward As leaders we must know how to recognize these feelings and know how to redirect the situation to transform those doubts and fears into hope, motivation, enthusiasm and concentration towards the resolution of the goal.
6. Contextual intelligence
Leader must understand the particular environment in which the organization or work group finds itself , that is, possessing contextual intelligence. Three fundamental components are taken into account in this skill:
First we have retrospective understanding, which involves taking advantage of and valuing what has been learned throughout the history of the organization and which is considered to continue to be useful.
Secondly, we have foresight, related to the ability to carry out what we want to obtain and articulate the actions to be carried out to achieve it.
Lastly, we have the convergence that allows the adequate integration of the two previous aspects, using them to identify and define the desired future.
7. Strategic intelligence
In this context, we can define strategic intelligence as the ability to anticipate trends and changes in the market , a market that in its digital aspect is very unstable and insecure. In addition to changes in the market, the leader must take into consideration the value chain of the organization itself and direct the desired transformation in the digital field. It is the ability to visualize how the future can impact the company’s results.
8. Adaptability and learning speed
The leader must have high adaptability and agile learning capacity, and must be very flexible with the changes that occur in the market. It’s fundamental learn quickly from the experiences that have been had with a certain market behavior and be able to apply it immediately in all types of new contexts This agile learning capacity allows us to address the ambiguity and uncertainty that many companies face today, since with so many changes in the market, executives may be undecided about which new strategy to apply.
9. Seduction and combination of talent
Today’s companies are places in which up to 5 different generations share space, each one with a different handling of new technologies and varied ways of seeing organizational life:
The last two generations and, especially, Z, are considered digital natives These people have grown up in environments in which new technologies were either breaking into the work and educational landscape or were already widely implemented. In both Gen Y and X, the use of computers and the search for information is done quickly and superficially, but effectively, while in the three previous generations they choose to read everything and act much more slowly with the use of new technologies.
These apparently contradictory aspects can be taken advantage of in an organization, as long as leadership is properly exercised. The leader must seduce and combine talent, knowing that the most veterans are much more careful with what they select while the new generations opt for speed The different skills, styles, motivations and objectives between generations must be taken into account, taking advantage of them for each type of situation.
At the individual level, we can relate psychological capital to their personal satisfaction and performance. In the business world this can be associated with four psychological states, represented by the acronym HERO in English :
11. Creative and innovative thinking
Creative thinking is one of the fundamental skills in the field of business and, in fact, it is considered to be key for the 2020s. Taking a strategic perspective, the leader must position himself as a source and engine of innovation in two senses. This makes a difference especially in a historical context in which the Internet and the development of new technologies allow tools and inventions of all kinds to be quickly developed and have a great scope.
On the one hand, the leader must act by establishing a work environment focused on the creation and innovation of new methods and, on the other, it must serve as a means to achieve competitiveness in the face of the changes and environment faced.
12. Collective leadership
The current leadership is not authoritarian or associated with the power or position exercised , must be focused on facilitating and empowering collaborators, each of whom has a way of seeing and opinions about the measures that are being taken in the company. Collective leadership must be exercised, that is, involving collaborators in the analysis and decision-making instead of deciding a strategy unilaterally.
This helps generate empathy, commitment and motivation among the organization’s workers. Through collaborative leadership, decentralized decision making is promoted, promoting high levels of collaboration and a feeling that the objectives within the company are shared by all team members.
Summary
Cultivating all these skills allows you to exercise effective, collaborative, creative, innovative and strategic leadership in the digital age Today’s business world is an environment of uncertainty, an ambiguous, dynamic and complex place in which the leader and his followers must work as a team, adapt to the business context and work on emotional and work skills to anticipate any adverse event. A long-term and optimistic strategic vision must be prioritized.
The Internet and new technologies in general will continue to be an engine of transformation, opportunities and growth in every organization, but to do so, it is those organizations that must know how to adapt to the new methods of the digital age. Leadership that takes into account the new characteristics of the digital economy will allow all types of successful organizations to develop and float.
