How to shape up as a 'digital leader'
Thursday 31st January 2013
Heads of ICT should not assume that the 'digital leader' roles mandated in the Government Digital Strategy are naturally theirs for the taking, says our latest briefing.
Digital leader?: it might (not) be you! points out that the digital leaders appointed so far in central government have tended not to be IT specialists, citing examples of people with backgrounds in banking and local authority management with leadership experience in transformation, efficiency, customer service and marketing.
What these individuals have in common, says the briefing, is capability and track record in bringing about radical change, and that is exactly what is required, because implementing digital strategy is about rethinking processes completely from a citizen's perspective, and not an administrator's.
The briefing recommends that Heads of IT who are keen to take on the digital role need to 'forget HTML and server farms' and focus on activity that will gain them credibility in this new and different context. The alternative could be to be sidelined as a 'head of tin and wires' as cloud services and utility computing ebb away at the perceived value of traditional IT and IT management roles.
Digital leader?: it might (not) be you! is available free of charge to Socitm Insight subscribers at: http://www.socitm.net/info/214/socitm_insight/53/briefings
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