How To Be a Successful Digital Transformation Leader

Digital transformation is a complex, high-risk, organizational change that impacts an entire enterprise. A strong digital transformation leader is essential to guide the process, make critical decisions and drive adoption.

To successfully navigate the transition, digital transformation leaders should incorporate a structured change management framework, like the Prosci Methodology. 

In this guide, we’ll explain digital transformation, the role of a transformation leader, and how change management can help them be successful.

What Is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation involves integrating digital technology into a business' operations and processes, fundamentally changing how it operates. This major shift requires a cultural change that enables organizations to challenge the status quo and experiment continually.

As of 2023, 93% of organizations achieved or planned to adopt a digital-first business strategy. Prosci research reflects this reality. According to over 10,800 change management professionals, technology and digital transformation are the most expected changes in 2024 and beyond.

Top 5 Expected Changes by Industry

Key aspects of digital transformation initiatives can include:

• Technology integration – Adopting digital tools and technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain to improve processes and services.
• Process improvement – Optimizing operations through automation to increase efficiency, lower costs and enhance customer experience.
• Business model innovation – Developing new business models that leverage digital opportunities, like subscription services, platform-based businesses, and other products.
• Customer experience – Improving customer interactions and engagement through personalized experiences, interactions via digital channels, and real-time feedback mechanisms.
• Cultural changes – Creating a culture of innovation, agility and continuous improvement at the organizational level, encouraging collaboration across departments, and promoting digital literacy among employees.

Nike Digital is a great example of digital transformation. The sportswear company launched a series of apps to connect with consumers and integrate their online and in-store shopping.

As of 2022, Nike Digital accounts for 26% of all Nike revenue, helping the company overcome the challenges of the pandemic and gain a competitive advantage.

What Is a Digital Transformation Leader?

A digital transformation leader is an individual who authorizes and manages digital project changes and initiatives. The role often requires a combination of strategic vision, technological expertise, and strong leadership skills.

Leaders play a crucial role during a digital transformation. To excel in their role, a digital transformation leader needs a change management strategy that helps them get commitment and support from senior leadership, manage risks, and motivate employees to adopt change.

Digital leaders deeply understand the latest technologies and how they impact the business model. They create strategies that help organizations capitalize on the newest opportunities and trends. They also work with the board, change professionals, and stakeholders to manage digital transformation efforts.

Depending on the organization's structure and focus, a digital transformation leader may hold titles such as Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), or Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

The responsibilities of a digital transformation leader can include:

• Strategic planning – Developing a clear digital transformation strategy that aligns with the business's strategic goals.
• Data-driven decision-making – Using data analytics to make informed decisions, measure success, and modify the digital transformation roadmap.
• Change management – Working with change management professionals to prepare and equip people to adopt and use digital changes in their work.
• Project management – Overseeing the planning, execution and delivery of digital transformation projects. With the help of the project management team, they ensure tasks are completed on time and to the desired quality standards.
• Collaboration – Working closely with various departments—like IT, marketing, operations and finance—to ensure that digital initiatives are integrated seamlessly across the organization.
• Resource allocation – Managing budgets and resources effectively throughout digital transformation initiatives.
• Performance monitoring – Using key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and identify areas for improvement.
• Risk management – Identifying potential risks associated with digital initiatives and building mitigation strategies.

Digital leadership requires working with and managing employees during the change. To learn how to accept and succeed in their role, digital leaders can attend the Prosci Leading Your Team Through Change Workshop.

The Challenges of a Digital Transformation Leader

The nature of complex changes creates a variety of challenges, many of which can be mitigated through effective change management. These challenges include:

• Lack of credibility – Many employees and stakeholders can doubt a CDO's credibility. Resistance to change; a perceived lack of experience, skills, or knowledge; and unrealistic expectations drive this doubt.
• Inadequate resources – Limited resources, including budget, talent and technology can hinder a leader. These limitations can lead to project failure as CDOs struggle to implement change without the right talent or investment in training and development.
• Insufficient time – Executives and stakeholders often expect quick wins, but digital transformation takes time. When instant results aren’t delivered, employees can start to question the effectiveness of the leadership and sometimes the change itself, leading to resistance behaviors.
• Overlapping roles – The evolving nature of the CDO role can lead to poorly defined expectations and responsibilities. In addition, overlaps with roles such as CIO or CTO can create confusion.
• Unclear relationships with other leaders – Chief Digital Officers can struggle to maintain well-defined relationships with C-suite executives, especially the CEO. 

Understanding the people side of change is essential to overcoming these and other challenges. Collaborating with a change management practitioner enables relationship-building, commitment and role-clarity digital transformation leaders need to get support and resources for digital change initiatives.

Leverage Change Management To Become a Successful Digital Transformation Leader

Successful digital transformations require building a culture of digital learning where employees have a good grasp of technology and think creatively to innovate.

Yet, changing an organizational culture takes time and considerable effort. People must adopt new ways of working—and do it at scale—to achieve the intended outcomes. This is why a proven change management approach like the Prosci Methodology is so helpful.

Prosci research shows that projects with effective change management are seven times more likely to succeed than those with poor change management.

Correlation of Change Management Effectiveness With Meeting Project Objectives

The Prosci Methodology is a structured, repeatable approach that change practitioners apply to drive the people side of changes and help CDOs deliver results from digital transformations. Applying the methodology supports the CDO's goals in several important ways.

1. Creating active and visible sponsors

A digital transformation leader needs sponsors to champion the change throughout the organization. A sponsor may be a business leader, executive or senior manager.

Digital leaders can work with change management professionals to identify sponsors and assist them in fulfilling their roles. These practitioners apply specific change management approaches to coach sponsors, plan their activities, help them communicate with employees, and hold them accountable.

Supporting sponsors this way helps them become more effective, and our research has shown that sponsor effectiveness directly correlates with meeting project objectives.

Correlation of Sponsor Effectiveness With Meeting Objectives

2. Enhances communication

Digital transformation leaders must communicate with PM professionals, CM networks, board members and stakeholders throughout the transition. This can be difficult given the lack of time and the number of responsibilities they have.

Change professionals can help leaders create a communications plan that effectively articulates the vision, goals and benefits of digital transformation to leaders, stakeholders and employees.

This transparent communication keeps everyone informed, builds trust, sets clear expectations, and reduces resistance.

Effective change management also improves communications by sending the right messages from the right people at the right time. For example, the Prosci Best Practices in Change Management report found that 58% of employees prefer to receive messages about the personal impacts of change from their supervisor.

Preferred Sender of Messages

3. Supports employees

Digital transformation leaders must engage employees in the change. In addition to effective communication and sponsorship, they should prepare and equip people to adopt and use digital changes.

Our Prosci ADKAR® Model is a model for individual change that helps you enable people to adopt and use changes, including digital technologies, at scale. The model has five stages: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.

Our Prosci ADKAR Model

Change practitioners work with the CDO to help people move through their individual transitions, break down barriers, and support them with training and coaching along the way.

4. Manage resources and risks

The digital transformation leader needs to manage allocated resources effectively to complete projects on time and within the budget.

Managing resources includes planning for funding and dedicated resources for change management. Prosci research shows a direct correlation between achieving good or excellent change management and having dedicated resources.

Relationship Between Sufficient Resources and Change Management Effectiveness

The Prosci Methodology incorporates a robust change management process and tools that help keep change teams on track to achieve desired outcomes.

The Prosci 3-Phase Process  process has three detailed phases:

• Phase 1 – Prepare Approach
• Phase 2 – Manage Change
• Phase 3 – Sustain Outcomes

Each phase includes customizable tactics and tools to streamline and focus critical activities.

By going through each phase, change practitioners, digital leaders and stakeholders form a shared definition of success and plan the processes to achieve it. They define and establish metrics, measure performance, and adjust as needed throughout the process. They also identify risks, anticipate barriers to success, and develop mitigation strategies.

5. Plan for reinforcement

A digital transformation isn’t complete until people have adopted the change for the long term. This requires change leaders to plan for reinforcement and sustainment activities.

Reinforcement activities, like rewards, recognition, corrective actions, celebrations and feedback mechanisms keep employees engaged in the new way of working and help sustain the change.

Reinforcement is critical to successful change. Eighty-one percent of participants who planned for reinforcement or sustainment activities met or exceeded project objectives.

Impact of Planning for Reinforcement on Project Success

Reinforcement also involves tracking performance metrics related to the change. Leaders and people managers can use this to reward employees who comply with new systems or processes.

Assessing performance also highlights areas where the change management strategy is not working or underperforming. Effective leaders use this data to modify their tactics to support the change better.

Become a Successful Digital Transformation Leader With Prosci

Digital transformation initiatives need strong leaders to reshape systems, culture and processes. To address change-related challenges, these leaders rely on change management professionals to help them navigate the people side of change.

Applying a research-based, proven approach, like the Prosci Methodology, enables leaders to focus on the vision, leadership and technical aspects of the digital transformation while achieving the levels of adoption and usage that drive successful outcomes from digital transformations.