In the life cycle of every organization, there comes a time at which transition becomes necessary. Sometimes this transition involves moving on from a leader – or leaders – who did not manage to fulfill their responsibilities in the manner expected by their peers – not only at the tier of C-level staff, but throughout the entire organization as well.
Transitioning from one leader to another certainly doesn't have to be a major fallow period for a business. But when this sort of thing has to happen while you're in the midst of implementing a complex initiative such as a digital transformation strategy, it might be more complicated than it ordinarily would. Here are the steps to take when it becomes necessary to clear such a transitional hurdle:
Quickly filling the recently vacated position
One can argue that this first step is the most critical of all when hoping to keep digital transformation going after an executive departure. Don't let it remain open for long, but instead be sure to begin looking for a new chief information or chief technology officer immediately. Narrow your search to focus on C-level job seekers who can provide you with examples of how they pursued problems similar to yours and succeeded – ideally in a manner very different from that of the executive who just left or was fired.
The executive search consultants at YES Partners can help you find a CIO, CTO or other tech-focused executive candidate with the unique combination of vision, forthrightness and work ethic who will be ideal for your organization. We operate in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, can unearth all essential background info about each candidate and will aid you in your search while maintaining a level of discretion, so your competitors don't aim to take advantage of any perceived weaknesses.
Preserving the philosophy of transformation
According to CIO magazine, a new executive overseeing an organization's tech and data operations must be able to quickly get other executives on board with their vision for digital transformation, ensuring a sensible degree of cohesion despite the change in leadership. If they are able to convince you and your C-level peers that they'll maintain the positive attributes of the transformation strategy while improving the aspects that weren't as well-handled, it'll be clear you made the right choice with your hire.
Additionally, Forbes noted that the creation of a narrative is critically important to digital transformation – a story that the rest of the business can follow, understand and enact. It must explicitly clarify how each segment of the organization will play into the overall strategy, showing workers from every department how this initiative will benefit them both in improvement of their day-to-day operations and in assisting with a more timely, cost-efficient realization of the team's long-term objectives. The CIO is the one who steers the ship of digital transformation, of course – but along the same metaphorical lines, it's vital to have full buy-in from every member of the crew.
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