023 by O. Nabok
© 2023 by Alpina PRO LLC
© Electronic edition. Alpina Digital LLC, 2024
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INTRODUCTION
Would you like to become the best version of yourself in management and master the techniques of creating a team capable of acting as a balanced unit, complementing each other, and approaching changes and innovations with a positive mindset and enthusiasm? Do you desire a team that takes responsibility for the organization's development, refines existing processes, and maintains a strong focus on results? If so, “Team Rules: Managing Change in the Digital Era” is exactly what you need. The book explores a modern leadership model and 10 change management strategies that have proven successful in today’s digital world. By leveraging these strategies, you can build a team of like-minded individuals capable of:
• Efficiently organizing and autonomously improving processes;
• Anticipating and promptly addressing client expectations with suitable changes;
• Enhancing their performance through digital tools, by unlocking their inner potential and scaling up best practices;
• Striving for maximum results, while avoiding bureaucratic processes and toxic reactions;
• Investing personal resources such as effort, time and energy to achieve a shared result.
An important aspect highlighted in this book is the provision of practical tools for engaging employees in the implementation of necessary changes by fostering a corporate culture of innovation and creating an environment that not only encourages self-learning and the development of new competencies but also drives team members to improve the organization's performance and adapt to a dynamic (or turbulent) environment by generating new solutions.
You have in your possession a comprehensive desktop toolkit for a successful leader in the digital era, complete with abstracts from expert articles, research papers, and real-life stories. Each chapter contains genuine cases supported by analysis and insight from experts, equipping you with 80 % practical and 20 % theoretical knowledge that is essential for achieving a systemic level of expertise in change management, as well as organizational, team, and personal development.
This book will undoubtedly prove valuable to experienced leaders who want to hone their leadership skills in an era of constant change, as well as to those who have recently embarked on their career journey. It will also be of interest to middle managers, heads of business units, and HR managers seeking to nourish their management skills or transition into the role of business partners.
01. STRATEGIC DIGITAL MANAGEMENT
Chapter 1. Transformational leadership in a new reality. Changing the evolution of leadership competencies
Welcome to the world of rapid change! The concept of “stability” is no longer applicable to organizational management. Instead, the key priorities of transformational leadership involve the ongoing quest for growth opportunities to unleash the organization's potential, boost team productivity, and ensure the sustainability of services while implementing new processes and systems.
The success of modern organizations hinges on several key factors, including operational change management, innovative strategies, a corporate culture that embraces innovation and digital performance boosters, as well as the transformation of models and processes through team engagement. Notably, client-centric systems that address the requirements of both external clients (consumers) and internal ones (employees, partners, and all stakeholders of the organization) take center stage.
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SERGEY CHUMAK, International Expert on Business Transformation and Strategy, Head of the Strategy Committee of the Digital Experts Association (DEA):
– Digital transformation is undoubtedly rooted in technology, but its primary focus is always on the client: creating value for the client involves a creative experiment that inherently carries an innovation risk. An update to organizational design is imperative, as it serves to stimulate creativity.
One of the most significant challenges encountered in the process of digital transformation is cultural transformation. The question that continues to puzzle many is how to motivate managers to be creative, responsible, and successful entrepreneurs within this context.
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What about management?
Today, volatility, dynamism, and frequently the absence of clear benchmarks have become the new norm. While it may be described as harsh, it has acted as a catalyst for the next phase of evolution in management models.
Once upon a time, we transitioned from a division of labor to centralized management with a strict hierarchy. Nowadays, we are moving towards an innovative culture within organizations that have shorter structures and a minimal number of management layers where everyone has the potential to assume a leadership role, particularly within specific tasks and projects and where motivation is not only about dangling a carrot in front of employees but also ambitious goals, sustainable collaboration and smart competition (see Figure 1).
At the forefront is a focus on seeking common interests of clients, employees, partners, and all stakeholders to create a sustainable organizational ecosystem and unleash its potential through the integration of digital tools, thereby improving interaction efficiency. Even the most flawless strategy will fail if it lacks the support of the team. In this case, the dynamic and simultaneous introduction of innovations is replaced by a more rigid adherence to guidelines.
The team, much like a living organism, will either adapt to changes (ideally initiating them) or reject them as unnecessary while maintaining the existing status quo and a consensus that is currently favorable. The trend of involving employees, clients and partners in the development and enhancement of a strategy becomes a natural norm and paves the way for its successful implementation.
NEW ERA SIGNIFIES NEW CHALLENGES
The paradigm of important leadership qualities is continually evolving and broadening. Today, the key is the skill of successfully implementing changes and modeling the future together with the team, thereby giving rise to the emergence of transformational or resonant leadership.
What is a transformational or resonant leader? It is an individual who knows how to inspire employees, helping them to make informed choices, and guiding their development based on values and narratives that are important for the team and the organization. He or she leads by example, actively pursues positive change, fosters an environment conducive to the generation of ideas, is open to experimentation, and acknowledges his or her mistakes when they occur. At the same time, transformational leadership does not negate the ability to manage based on strategic priorities and high-quality real-time data, nor the capacity to swiftly adapt the organization's ecosystem as needed.
A dreamer and an analyst, a financier and a visionary who anticipates trends, a competent manager and a mentor – mastering all these roles is not something that can be accomplished overnight.
This is where the strength of leadership evolution becomes evident (see Figure 2), transforming into:
• multi-level, which in this context signifies a phased evolution through several levels or growth points each of which is characterized by the development of new competencies, behavioral role models,