Ownership of digital transformation must come from the top of the organisation. No exceptions.
It needs to be a Chief, not a subordinate. This means the CEO, Chief Executive Officer, No exceptions. The CEO isn’t alone however. They should be supported by, and should empower the other chiefs (CDO, CIO, CTO, CMP, CPO and so on) to drive transformation in their areas
If the CEO does not:
- buy into transformation
- does not sponsor the objectives of the transformation
- does not drive the management team to change with the company
Then the organisation will not follow.
Ownership sits at the centre of the frame work. Transformation will require the resources to embrace new ways of working, or processes, along with new values, or standards, for decision-making. Teams are unlikely to accept the required changes if they do not see their management adopting them.
The CEO and senior management team need to lead by example, demonstrating the required change behaviours and actions.
No clear top-down ownership will mean that:
- Bottom-up initiatives will meet resistance in senior management layer
- Investments required for disruption will struggle for approval
- Organisational antibodies (those opposed to transformation) will prevent transformation
- The tough decisions to move forward will not be made.
Resources will be fearful of the change, processes will remain wasteful, and values will fail to be adapt to digital.
No Ownership, No Progress
Companies will expect a certain ROI with in a short time frame for investments made in new products or technologies. Initially new innovative digital technologies are unlikely to meet these expectations.
Managers are unlikely to approve or accept investments that do not meet the previous expected requirements, unless the CEO & team demonstrates that this is now acceptable through their communications and actions.