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Sandra Rohrbach

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Knights wanted for digital round table

Germany's federal elections haven't even happened yet but fighting has already broken out over cabinet positions. The question of whether we need a Federal Minister for Digital Issues has become part of the 2017 campaign. As some see it, he or she should hold the reins of Germany's Digital Agenda. The other side don't see the need for major changes and believe the existing set-up, with responsibility spread across different ministries, has been effective. In this regard the political wrangling is very similar to what's going on in major corporations right now. Under mounting pressure to digitize, they are also creating new job titles and management roles, with Chief Digital Officer leading the way. At Deutsche Telekom, the managers responsible for digital matters set particular store by the principle of the "digital round table." They see it as a way to build trust in the Group's own digitization program and to find the "digital holy grail."

Modern-day knights on a quest for the digital grail.

Modern-day knights on a quest for the digital grail.

Where should digital power lie?

Many major corporations have created new management roles over recent years. Increasingly, "Chief Digital Officers" (CDO) are being appointed as managers of all things digital. They are meant to ensure digital products flourish in an agile and modern working environment. In Germany alone almost 40 percent of stock market-listed companies have a manager responsible solely for the digital transformation. More than half of all CDOs were appointed in just the last two years. The analyst company Gartner expects two thirds of all large companies to have a CDO on their books by next year.

But it is noteworthy that managers with the Chief Digital Officer title haven't reached board level yet. Still, that doesn't mean that digitization issues are being ignored by top management. According to recent research, three quarters of companies in the DAX-20 group have board members responsible for IT and digitization issues. So digitization is indeed in demand at board level.

Allrounder Chief Digital Officer

Either way, even without a seat on the board, CDOs seem expected to generate momentum. Their role comes with a diverse array of tasks: they have to be change managers, strategy developers, implementers, coordinators, story tellers, integrators and catalysts, depending on their firm's needs. Thus far, their profile and related tasks have rarely been defined or categorized. As a result, management consultants are now pleading for the Chief Digital Officer simply to be seen as a "digital leader." This applies also to similar-sounding job titles such as "Chief Information Officer", "Vice President of Digital Transformation" and the like. In any event, it is clear that companies are not working to a blueprint of hierarchical structures for their digital management. Quite the opposite – there is still a lot of space for experimentation.

Deutsche Telekom's round table model

To a certain extent, Deutsche Telekom is a special case when it comes to implementing its internal digital agenda. The company sees itself as a telecommunications and IT company, in short a "digital company" whose core business is building and operating infrastructure for the digital transformation. With this in mind, the Board of Management is strongly committed to ensuring that the opportunities and risks that come with digitization are subject to the widest public discussion possible. Their credo is that digital responsibility cannot be prescribed, but rather must be drawn up together. In parallel, Deutsche Telekom has also brought in Chief Digital Officers in many units, including Finance, Sales, and to coordinate cross-departmental cooperation. Moreover, other managers are also responsible for digital and IT, such as the Chief Digital Officers and the Director of the newly-established Digital Division. They all meet regularly to discuss their joint task, which consists not just in ensuring customers can use digital services, but also in guaranteeing seamless cooperation. The goal of these "digital round tables" is to motivate as many "followers" as possible for our internal digitization program and to make them part of these changes. This is the so-called "bottom-up principle" or, to stick to the metaphor: the "digital round table" model.

The digital grail

These days, every single company is on the look out for new digital business models. Digitization will drive success and prosperity even if no one knows how and in what way. In this respect, "digital leaders" closely resemble the knights of the medieval saga of King Arthur. King Arthur and his knights set out on an adventure into the unknown to find the holy grail and save their country. They didn't even know what the grail looked like or whether it could be found at all. There are contradictory tales of how many knights embarked on the mission, ranging from 12 to 1,600. But when they gathered, they sat around a round table. And, to this very day, round tables have remained a symbol of cooperation where hierarchy and distribution of power take a back seat to establishing the facts, dialog and understanding. At one of these "predemocratic meetings" from the legend of King Arthur, a shining grail appeared to the knights. They then rode out together on many adventures. The tale had a happy ending and their ravaged country bloomed again into paradise.

We in the 21st century can believe in signs and wonder, too. The appointment of Chief Digital Officers and other "digital knights" emphasizes the quest for a "digital grail." But pure symbolism won't be enough. The new league of digital managers must really be committed to effecting change, and, sticking to our metaphor, do so "without fear or blame" or, as it were, "without digital anxiety." Come what may, it is a good omen that politicians are talking about appointing digital ministers. It is proof that digitization is important to many people. Yet without "knights" the "king" is powerless.

What do you think?

What is your experience of Chief Digital Officers in your company? How is the topic of digitization tackled in your workplace? Please use the comment function under this article to share your thoughts on the topic.

170607_DigitalGipfel-SmartCity-en

Blog.Telekom

Sandra Rohrbach

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Cities need Chief Digital Officers, too

German cities are lagging when it comes to digitization. Compared to other European cities, far too few German municipalities already have smart city strategies.

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