ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY

Digital leaders understand that what motivates top-notch talent today goes beyond financial rewards .

Jing Wang , Senior Vice President at Baidu , the Chinese web services company , lets certain key personnel work on their favorite projects and pick their managers . Giving them choices embodies our respect for our technical personnel , according to him .

Half of the CEOs responding to Gartner ’ s 2016 CEO survey expect the industry in which they will operate to be substantially changed or unrecognisably transformed by digital by 2020 .

Unfortunately , our mindsets , and the inner workings of our brains , may confine us to yesterday ’ s logic , one that does not play well in the digital space . In other words , some CIOs find themselves illprepared to lead in the ways demanded by the impending digital reality .

The digital thinking necessary to disrupt business model paradigms , will not happen by chance . Leaders must cultivate specific mindsets to identify and sharpen distinguishing traits in themselves . In our research , we have identified six mindset traits of successful disruptive digital leaders . Six disruptive digital leader mindset traits

• Thrive despite uncertainty

• Quest for breakthrough business outcomes

• Exploit new digital-era competitive levers

• Start-experiment-learn-iterate

• Cultivate a creativity and innovation culture

• Cherish top-notch digital talent

Graham Waller is Research Vice President at Gartner

Assess the level of your current mindset Do you believe it is relevant ? How much do you embody this trait in your belief system ? If this is your mindset , does it fully translate to your actions and those of your team every day ?

Reframe your mindset to build digital acuity Our mindsets can lead even high digital acuity leaders astray if they are not attuned to the prevailing or changing market realities . It is important to regularly challenge and invite challenge from others to evolve your mindset assumptions , beliefs and paradigms , especially in light of your particular marketplace reality .

The good news is that mindsets can change . Consider incorporating the following techniques into your leadership practices and daily routines to keep your thinking matched to market demands and to lead digital disruption .

Reframe your perspectives with premortems One technique to re-frame perspectives is to be healthfully paranoid and run premortem ideation sessions with your peers or team where you envision being forced out of business by 2020 .

Why could that happen ? Which paradigms in your current mindset might need to change under the weight of digital disruption ? Identify what would have made you successful and the needed mindset shifts .

Change your inner monologue To consciously engage contemporary digital era thinking , increase your self-awareness of how your mindset shapes the inner brain monologue when you receive new information . What are your thoughts and reactions when you encounter new business models , competitors , digital technologies or other information ? Do you reject potential disruptions or see potential opportunities ? Do you immediately pass judgment or take the time for thoughtful evaluation ?

Practice digital routines Routines that are practiced on a regular basis strengthen the brain ’ s underlying neural networks , which in turn form connections with new experiences and thoughts . Start one key meeting a day with a short segment on a digital disruption topic . Test your thinking and seek new insights while practicing active listening .

Create and frequently use a personal portfolio of expressions and narratives that communicate how digital will impact your business , constantly refining your communication and storytelling .

Over time , by constantly challenging and refining these techniques , you will ensure that your mindset keeps evolving at pace with or ahead of the digital-era market reality .

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