Insights for a 2020 Vision

We profile and support the development of digital age leadership across the globe, working with enterprise, government and disruptive businesses.

This exposure to the maturity level, ambitions, fears and competency of leaders means we have a unique insight into the state of leadership mindset & behaviour as well as the trends that are emerging and the gaps that still exist in a world where digital transformation has become as ubiquitous a phrase as technology itself.

To kick off both a new year and a new decade we thought it would be valuable to share some of our insights in the hope that some of these points might help you as a leader, digital change agent or leadership development practitioner make 2020 the year when leadership takes a real shift towards a leadership profile that can help us all not just survive, but thrive in a digital and post-digital age:

1. DatamindfulnessTM Every leader in 2020 should focus on their personal data literacy and decision making behaviours. In addition, our data shows that throughout 2019 whilst there has been a growing awareness of the ethical side of data; leaders still seem to believe that ‘data’ is a specialism and job responsibility of a particular person – and not a fundamental leadership priority
2. Be a Role Model. Research still gets published that suggests digital transformation is yet to turnaround into something successful rather than risky or doomed to fail. Our data suggests that a key factor towards shifting your digital transformation into something successful is in the investment and time it takes to help leaders become the role models of new ways or working and behaviours. After all, when culture shifts it looks up right?
3. Small really is Big! Separating out transformation from business as usual still makes sense for technology, operating model changeovers and product/service redesign. But buried under each and every one of these transformations is business as usual ecosystem of human beings that need to shift too. Humans shift at a much slower pace than technology – finding ways to make shifts the micro-moments of our working day will support the more transformation change when it arrives. Make it a habit, try something small and different every day! Why include this point in our leadership 2020 Vision list? Because these types of micro habits if integrated into a leadership development programme can sometimes be more powerful and impactful than a super-duper keynote that gives an instant Wow with little or no clarity of How.
4. Digital Age not Digital. It’s 2020, give it a break and stop trying to define the word digital. Leaders and those responsible for leadership development should focus on what it means to be leading and working in a digital age. Exploring the shifts in thinking and behaviour that make us more human.
5. Experimental Practice. No, I didn’t say agile or Agile! One of the most important and one of the biggest leadership competencies our insight indicated throughout 2019. The practice of experimental thinking and behaviour at a leadership level is still generally weak – which has grave consequences when you consider the implications and domino effect this has on digital transformation; a lack of competency around change and uncertainty at a leadership level might force more conservative and risk-averse transformation designs. The growing narrative around empowering a more agile or fail fast and learn get’s stuck because leaders and managers haven’t the exposure or confidence to empower, enable and role model a test and learn culture.

THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE INSIGHTS THAT WE HAVE DISTILLED AS PART OF OUR EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT 2019 AND OUR LEADERSHIP PREDICTIONS FOR 2020.

What it all boils down to is this; if you are a leader how do these points factor into your own personal development and 2020 Vision? If you are a digital change agent or a leadership development practitioner how can you effectively integrate these points into the support you provide the leaders you work with; or those around you? That’s where the Dilyn Framework can help.

The Dilyn Way framework is a best practice framework for leading in a digital age that focusses on shifting leadership thinking and behaviour. Central to the framework is the leadership profiling tool that gives you an insight into your current mindset and behaviours as well as help you understand where your potential lies and most importantly how to get there – delivered by a certified Dilyn Way mentor-coach.

To take your Dilyn Profile and Debrief click here.

We created a more extensive list of 2020 Leadership Vision points alongside these 5. If you would like to know more about these or some of the other points, please let us know – and we will continue to post them out for reference and usage.

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