The Impact of Support: How to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Chief Digital Officer

Effective digital strategy takes a lot more than just a plan on a page… and the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) role reflects that. Increasingly, organizations are discovering that technical and business acumen isn’t enough to make a CDO successful.

So, what does it take?

The best CDOs are deeply empathetic, capable of understanding the consumer and sparking a bottom-up motivation among employees. They are exceptional collaborators with captivating storytelling abilities. They leverage these skills to create bold, creative, and inspiring strategies that can overturn hard-wired practices and discover sustainable new revenue streams.

However, even the most capable leader will fail without support. That’s why it’s crucial to create an environment where a CDO can deliver their full potential and help transform digital strategy.

How can we set CDOs up for success?

To maximize a CDO’s impact, it is essential to empower them with the right support and resources and implement these practical recommendations to create an environment for the CDO to flourish:

Define a Clear Vision for the Future

A CDO works best when their mission is clear—that’s why it’s important to understand what that mission is. This involves defining the vision for the future through different approaches, even before delving into the strategies to fullfil the mission:

• Enhance: Leveraging digital technologies to improve existing processes without radically overhauling the business. For example, a grocery retailer may embark on a digital mission to seamlessly integrate online and offline channels, offering personalized recommendations and a unified shopping experience across platforms.
• Revamp: Embracing significant changes to operations or business models. For instance, consider the digital transformation journey of traditional media companies like The New York Times have shifted from print-focused models to digital-first strategies, including subscription-based online content and multimedia storytelling.
• Disrupt: Introducing groundbreaking digital solutions that propel industries into new paradigms and establish new markets. For example, Tesla’s integration of electric power, advanced technology, and autonomous driving features revolutionized the automotive industry, inspiring others to follow suit.

A digital mission helps the CDO drive the right strategies, investments, and collaborations, even in the face of external shocks and disruptive technologies. Most importantly, it helps the organization identify the right leader and skill set for the job.

Define a Clear Scope of Work

Digital transformation requires a collective effort, with the CEO leading and empowering the CDO to drive innovation. The CDO sets the strategic direction and fosters a culture of innovation, staying at the cutting edge of digital trends while maintaining a laser focus on the customer.

Other C-suite leaders also share the responsibility for driving transformation within their respective teams, leveraging their functional expertise and influence to enact meaningful change. It is crucial to support the CDO through collaboration and partnership at the peer and CEO-level.

Establish Future-Oriented Targets

Traditional metrics for executive performance fall short in the digital age, particularly for CDOs who need the freedom to explore, take risks, and learn from failures to push boundaries in the digital realm.

By adopting flexible targets and taking a broader view of success, organizations create an environment that cultivates the psychological safety needed to take necessary risks. This approach establishes a holistic approach to target-setting that encompasses experimentation, learning, and a long-term perspective. Gradually, they shift away from rigid metrics and embrace a framework that fosters iterative learning and continuous improvement.

In today’s dynamic business landscape, embracing transformation is crucial for organizations seeking a competitive advantage. Establishing the direction and scope of transformation is a critical step in supporting the overall effectiveness of an incoming CDO, as well as the broader digital strategy of an organization.

Want to help your Chief Digital Officer hit the ground running? Contact Tim Hewat at tim.hewat@lhhknightsbridge.com to learn more.

About the Author:

Tim Hewat is Head of Executive Search, North America, LHH Knightsbridge. He and his team support executive search within the Technology and Digital Transformation Practice, helping clients find and transition the top leadership talent they need to unlock their full potential.