Creative Self-Beliefs in Leading Digital Transformations

Exploring the Agentic Process of Creative Self-Beliefs in Leading Digital Transformations

In digital economies, the digital transformation of enterprise architecture has become an essential strategy for traditional companies with legacy systems to stay competitive. Individuals in the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) role and other leaders at the C-level are responsible for creating a new digital vision for the company and implementing emerging technologies that promise new value for customers and from redesigned business operations.

Implementing a particular digital transformation (DT) initiative consists of changes in the existing information system, business processes and working culture to achieve the strategic goals. For DT initiatives to deliver new business opportunities, the functionalities of the digital systems must be appropriated by key users. Thus, CDOs must define digital strategies that address the customer and the key users’ needs. Moreover, they must be flexible in rethinking their plans as the DT implementation advances. As a result, the change management aspect of DT initiatives is a type of wicked problem for digital leaders: 1) it’s about introducing a new technology in the company; 2) it involves stakeholders with conflicting priorities; 3) the goals can change as the project develops; and 4) there can be more than one appropriate solution to address changing goals, each solution with its strengths and weaknesses.

Creativity – the psychological process of generating new and useful solutions – can be a fundamental resource for solving the unanticipated challenges at decisive moments of the project, such as developing the competencies needed to implement the digital initiative, communicating compelling narratives for managers and employees about why digitisation is a desired reality in the company and creating and maintaining a continuous learning culture. How can digital transformation leaders leverage creativity – for themselves and their teams – to enable successful digital transformations?