Some business types say it isn’t true until we’ve seen it in the Harvard Business Review. And now we have.
A new survey, sponsored by Red Hat and conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, shows that “CIOs and IT leaders who foster a culture of digital learning and shared accountability generate greater business outcomes.”
In other words, there are direct benefits when business leaders are educated on digital trends.
“Companies that excel in digital leadership were found to be significantly more likely to have experienced revenue growth of 10 percent or more over the last two years,” according to a post by Red Hat.
The data also reveals a gap within many companies. According to the survey, fewer than a quarter (23 percent) of all survey participants “are confident their organizations have the knowledge and skills to succeed in the digital aspects of their business.”
But what the report calls “Digital Leaders” — firms that employees rank highly in both digital leadership and management — are the light in the tunnel. Those companies have developed the people, processes, and technology needed to execute in a digital world — and significantly more likely to enjoy the benefits, including revenue growth.
“While only a fifth of respondents (19 percent) fell into the Digital Leaders category, these employees were considerably more confident (67 percent) in their company’s ability to succeed in the digital age compared to the average (23 percent),” posits Red Hat.
Lee Congdon, the CIO at Red Hat, urges CIOs to lead the way.
“It’s clear that the role of the CIO and IT leaders is evolving,” Congdon says. “The report demonstrates how imperative open collaboration and shared accountability are for the entire enterprise. The results are a call to arms for CIOs to get ahead of the industry shift and drastically increase transparency between IT and other business leaders now, before their competitors leave them behind.”