Digital Leadership training Brani Milosevic @bubana #digileaders.

Digital Leadership trainingBrani Milosevic @bubana

#digileaders

What we’ll go through today

• What’s the problem?

• How can we deal with it?

• Managing your team, peers and your boss

• Analysing the problem to come to the solution

This session is dedicated to your development

To get the value out of this session, don’t be a consumer:

•a passive, hungry receptacle

•full of expectations, maybe demands

•maintaining the right to complain

Be a learner instead.

What’s the problem of Digital Leadership?

What’s the problem?With the development and mainstreaming of Digital across organisations together with increased investment and activity in this area, many Digital Leads, in effect, find themselves spearheading the organisational change process. However:

Senior management often do not realise the extent to which this is happening and the support that might be required

Digital Leads are either not skilled or positioned in the organisational hierarchy to help lead organisational change

What’s the problem?

Organisations often don’t trust its digital talent and refer decisions to more senior staff which has some or no digital knowledge

Digital leaders in organisations have no experience of managing up in order to help develop that trust

What’s the problem?

“We have struggled to groom our digital journalists for leadership, in part because we don’t fully know how to use their skills. “

“It’s critically important to have traditional journalists involved in crafting and implementing our digital strategy. But having so many of these [digital leadership] posts filled by traditional journalists deprives us of deep expertise to push our digital efforts to the next level.”

New York Times internal innovation review

8

The 7 deadly emotions of digital teams

From the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

• Frustration: I can’t get what I want done• Information = power (over-complication?)• Righteousness• Self-satisfaction (even smugness?)• Lack of trust : They just don’t get it• Defensiveness(e.g. against devolution to spokes/mainstreaming of

Digital)• Resentment/anti-establishment• Idealism (vs. Pragmatism?)

Why no senior digital roles?Management overload – “Not another direct line-report, please! “

Lack of confidence – “I don’t know anything about what they do, I don’t want to be responsible for technology delivery, how can I manage them?”

Recruitment – Lack of confidence to find the right person for the post– should the focus be on creative or technology skills or both? Should the role go to someone who is a marketing expert or someone who knows the issues well?

Generation gap – It’s a young person’s world, lack of confidence on both sides (teenager talking to an uncool parent; “I’m a pathogen to my SMT”)

Power – Directors who manage Digital don’t want to let go of the team as it gives them power within the organisation

Discuss in pairs

Does this chime with your experience?

If yes/no, discuss why?

Standing in their shoes

What are they worried about?How do they view Digital?What can you do to overcome their concerns?

From the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

The Finance Director

The Marketing Director

CEO

Standing in their shoes

● Increasing area of spend

● Small scale activity measurable…..

● But ROI of new responsive site or CMS?

● Social Media unproven/unclear ROI

● Fit with my IT team?

The Finance Director

‘I’ve got an evangelical youngster telling me he needs £200k for the latest kit. The scary thing is, he could be right….but I’ve no way of knowing’

Build trust - use evidence from small scale activity

From the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

Standing in their shoes

● Critical to success

● Measurable

● Constantly evolving – difficult to pin down

● But has to be integrated with my other channels

● …and digital talent is getting increasingly expensive

The Marketing Director

‘The Digital team are great – talented, creative and enthusiastic. But they’re a bunch of mavericks. I can’t have them going off creating the wild west. And I can’t have them hanging on to this – we need everyone to ‘get’ digital’

Show Digital is a team player. Information is not power – share it!

From the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

Standing in their shoes

● An area of worry…

● An area of threat from new digital entrants…

● ..and a source of divisional tension… everyone fighting over this resource

● Plus a growing area of spend

● Yet critical to success

CEO

‘I don’t have a clear view on where we’re going here! Do we have a joined up Digital strategy? Do we even need one? My senior management team aren’t giving me clear answers....and while the digital team seem really enthusiastic, how much of their plans fit with our bigger corporate issues?’

Overtly demonstrate how your plans fit with the wider organisational strategy. Be the honest broker in divisional power battles

From the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

Transforming the Digital / Senior Management dynamic

• Find where you can help

If they’re concerned about their lack of involvement and knowledge, perhaps ask them to mentor some of your team?

• Gain their trust

Find the bridges. If they think ‘it’s the same shit, new channels’, how/where is that true? Show you ‘get it’ – and then show them where it isn’t true.

• First be positive – exceed their expectations

• Then be proactiveFrom the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

Transforming the Digital / Senior Management dynamic

• Recognise Digital operates in the real world – affected by petty politics

• It will be fought over

• But you can bring the two Senior Management parties together

• Value the differences. What do they bring? And what do you bring? Value both

From the presentation by Matt Wright of Shelter at ECF 2014

Don’t be an innocent lamb

Discuss in pairs

Does this ring true to you?

19

Why good leaders make you feel safe

Managing others, self, your manager

You have a number of other people whom you need to manage

•Your boss

•Your colleagues and your direct reports

•Yourself

Good managers develop the capability and the capacity to be effective in all three areas. It is a big task.

Managing others, self, your manager

Manage yourself

Understand and control your emotions. Live the values. Become a professional. Get it together. Accept yourself and the person you are. Develop resilience.

Manage others

Support what others are doing. Show genuine interest. Build relationships through allowing others to succeed and take the credit. Like and respect the people with whom you work.

Manage your boss

Deliver outstanding results. Understand your boss’ needs. Become the 'go-to person’ in terms of approachability and helpfulness. Work step-by-step when wanting things.

Managing others, self, your manager

Understanding your issue

4.EnvironmentExpertise

3.Relationship/Culture

2. Body &Behaviour

1. Individual experience

Example:

1.I am not good at presentations but I have to be to get promoted. I feel anxious and worry how it’s going to go. 2.My breath gets shallow and more rapid. I feel tightness in my shoulders3.I can’t “read” groups and lose track of the group when I answer questions from individuals.4.I don’t understand the financial or other metrics of the proposal I have to present

Understanding your issueWork in pairs. Think of an issue you’d like to tackle.

1.

What do you think is making this difficult for you?

What’s your history of working with this topic?

Whose expectations/requests/feelings are involved in this issue for you?

2.

What does it feel like when you are in the middle of this topic?

3.

What behaviour must you initiate to stop/resolve this issue?

Who makes the issue more difficult? Easier?

Who can assist you?

4.

What competence will help you with the issue?

Does this issue arise in particular environments?

4.Environment/Expertise

3.Relationship/Culture

2. Body &Behaviour

1. Individual experience

Questions/thoughts?

@bubana

digitalleadership.org.uk

Join the Digital Leadership Forum,

8 April 2015

part of ECF

www.fairsay.co.uk/ecf