The digital transformation that doesn’t transform

This is the case where digital tools and/or platforms are adopted to enable the execution of activities and workflows.

Whether they are customer-facing platforms, supporting operations, or enabling functions such as learning or procurement, the evaluation and selection of digital tools are often based on a mindset that roughly goes, “we need a tool to do this/that,” thus replicating an already existing process.

The purchasing logic is driven by principles of continuity rather than revisiting the value creation process from the ground up and understanding how the degrees of freedom enabled by digital technologies can open up new possibilities.

The result is improved efficiency, often due to easier access to information and documents, and better communication flows. This is a benefit not to be underestimated, but certainly not a transformative one.

Example

CRM: when adopting a CRM, the company may fail to consider how the sales process is shifting toward a hybrid selling paradigm, where many stages take place online, generating micro-interactions that are inconsistent with current sales processes.

Performance Management: adopting apps to engage and empower both managers and employees in the year-end feedback process may be poorly aligned and may not foster the adoption and spread of new work models based on Agile teams or OKRs (see also The 3 Blows of OKRs to Organizational Silos and It’s Never Just OKR).

In this case, the word “power” should be taken literally. Power, as in “being able to… having an impact.”

In modern organizations – precisely what should be achieved through Digital Transformation – people are able to make the best decisions where things actually happen. Only in this way can they be fast and effective.

This, for us, is a golden rule! It’s what we promote to our clients whenever we talk about digital transformation and/or new ways of working.

Enabling people to make decisions aligned with company goals and priorities requires redefining the boundaries of autonomy and providing timely, up-to-date informational and training resources.

Often, however, organizations simply provide apps and software to track activities, projects, and initiatives, in order to start an authorization process — perhaps automated — that replicates traditional levels of organizational responsibility.

Example

CRM: it is often overlooked how data analysis of information stored in traditional CRMs can play a key role in generating frequent insights that help the sales force focus their efforts and personalize customer relationships.

Performance Management: apps and software based on the traditional performance management process support people’s development by summarizing improvement goals and offering courses. Instead, they could generate frequent — almost real-time — feedback to help individuals reorient their professional actions.

When it comes to new Leadership, the vision is quite clear: leadership must shift from a command-and-control approach to an enabling one.

At the same time, this is the dimension that most resists transformation. Changing mindsets and behaviors can take between 9 and 12 months to complete, while changing organizational culture can take years — research suggests between 3 and 5.

But what does it mean to adopt an approach aimed at empowering people?

Of course, it’s related to the redistribution of power mentioned in the previous point — but not only that.

It also stems from how one believes the way of working should evolve. There’s no single best model; rather, it’s about ensuring alignment between:

• purpose and company priorities
• work method/organizational model (referring to methodologies such as Agile, the Spotify model, OKRs, etc.)
• values and behaviors of leaders

The Agile Leadership model helps leaders at all levels develop a complex yet practical mindset — one that fosters behaviors and relationships aligned with both business goals and organizational design.

The Agile Leader understands how to balance the needs of their team members with the organization’s culture and mechanisms, while staying within constraints. They are also able to identify friction points and initiate change by engaging with their organizational stakeholders.

Indeed, the Agile Leader works to move beyond the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach of organizations and, in a concrete and realistic way, aims to create a work environment centered on the employee experience.

Example

Many leaders are asked to implement changes toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, with specific KPIs for each function, apply reward systems involving statistical calibrations, and lead teams of professionals who are highly sought after in the market. These leaders operate within a narrow managerial space filled with sometimes contradictory criteria.

Despite this, they are expected to have a strong impact on employee engagement and retention — often without adequate support in identifying and communicating the people value proposition or designing more personalized work environments aligned with phenomena such as job crafting.