A digitalized business world calls for resilient leadership teams

Staying adaptable in an increasingly volatile economy rests on the strategic use of technology, Christoph Bornschein, CEO and founder of TLGG Consulting, claims.

At Signium’s recent Virtual Conference webinar, guest speaker Christoph Bornschein discussed how the massive impact of technology on business has been further reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Presenting opportunities to cope with this change in a positive way, Bornschein asserts that this continues to be the central challenge for leaders around the globe.

Digitalization fast forward: Technology-driven value-creation

“What we witness is a consistent drive towards technology-driven value-creation. Thus, the value of technology went from being a supporter over being an enabler to being a value driver itself.” According to Bornschein, Artificial Intelligence, i.e. algorithm-based decision-making, is the consequence of the massive impact of software on the business world. Today, accessing and managing data is key to success, helping to make predictions about future developments, from technical maintenance to market trends.

Data-driven business models thrive on competition and cooperation

Hence, emerging data-driven business models rely on advanced analytics to open up new revenue potential and gain competitive advantages in what Bornschein calls the ecosystem market. “In this economic environment, the levels of value-creation are increasingly complex and interconnected. Companies cannot control this trend. They have to cooperate with each other in order to survive.” This, Bornschein concludes, means a massive shift for leadership and the placement of senior talent.

New Leadership qualities needed: Adaptability and Resilience

Leaders have to be adaptable and resilient in order to successfully navigate in this economic environment. So far, high similarities in leadership teams have worked out well for organizations that go “straight ahead.” “From now on,” Bornschein stresses, “leadership teams need diverse perspectives on where they go. Today, an intern can lead a project, as long as this intern knows best how to run this project and the team.” How can such talents best be identified? This is the key question for experts in the field of Executive Search.

How Executive Search shapes future leadership

According to Bornschein, significant shortcomings can be identified in the lack of educational diversity amongst members of leadership teams. “Consumer goods firms hiring consumer goods experts will never become successful. Game-changing leaders bring cross-industry and interface expertise,” Bornschein asserts.

Businesses need leadership models “fit for purpose”

The crucial challenge, Bornschein stresses, is to foster new approaches and keep businesses manageable. “This model of leadership has to be ‘fit for purpose’ – it should uniquely fit the organization.” Simply implementing the ‘Spotify model’ is not the right thing to do. “I say yes to agility, yes to network-based organization, but you have to build a model that fits your organization,” Bornschein concludes.

About Christoph Bornschein
Christoph Bornschein, CEO and founder of TLGG Consulting, is one of the most renowned experts in the fields of Digitalization and AI. He works as advisor for various international companies and institutions and has authored numerous articles on the strategic use of digital technologies.