The digital transformation, with its challenges in terms of agility, team leadership and customer focus, demands a whole set of new skills from managers. It depends on the right mix of soft, tech and digital skills, writes Jenny Gruner, Director Global Marketing at Hapag-Lloyd.
The times when companies could plan long-term over several years are irretrievably over. Our world has become so unpredictable, complex and multi-layered (VUCA world) that companies have to find new ways to still be able to work in a planned and goal-oriented manner. One of the greatest challenges for companies in the coming years lies in the digital transformation – and this is not a spontaneous short run, but a marathon.
The only constant seems to be change, whether in the wishes of the customers, the working methods or the business models. So how do successful managers meet these multi-layered challenges?
The answer is quite simple: with the right skill set. When the world is constantly changing, we too must be prepared to keep learning new things and to develop ourselves further. However, it is just as obvious that this cannot be achieved at the push of a button. So it depends on the right skills – or more precisely on the right mix of characteristics and abilities that allow us to react agilely again and again. This mix consists of digital and technological skills as well as important social skills.
Jenny Gruner brings the digital marketing on board in the traditional global group Hapag-Lloyd and thus digitizes one of the largest shipping companies in the world. She developed a global scalable marketing model in 144 countries. She earned her digital spurs in the performance marketing agency Eprofessional before she lost her heart to B2B and has been bringing digitization and marketing to traditional companies ever since.
1) Digital Skills: Participation in a digitized society
Digital skills are competences that enable people to orientate themselves in a digitized environment and to actively participate in it. They are the basic requirement for future participation in professional life. This includes a basic understanding of digital business models, skills for virtual work and learning, knowledge of agile work and management methods and, last but not least, the digital basics, such as the sensitive handling of personal data or mastering common software.
2) Technological Skills: Designing transformative technologies
More and more job advertisements require knowledge of data analysis and interpretation as well as the ability to explain complex technical issues in an understandable way. This also requires some IT expertise and an understanding of programming, even if the position of a web developer is not at stake. Such knowledge will be in demand across all sectors in the future.
3) Social skills: The most important driver of digital change
Soft skills are also increasingly coming into focus. Those who bring them with them can find their way around more easily in new situations and analyze and solve problems better. In an increasingly complex world, such skills are worth their weight in gold. In times of working from home and self-determination, self-organization is essential. Decentralized and digital work makes it necessary for employees to be able to work more and more independently. This requires transparency, trust and empowerment on the part of managers. But also resilience, solution-oriented thinking, creativity, communication skills, emotional intelligence and willingness to change are among the social skills that are becoming increasingly important for managers and employees.
With increasing digitization, the half-life of our knowledge and skills is also shortening. If you want to keep up with the rapid changes, you have to be willing to constantly develop yourself. Today more than ever, working means continuously investing in yourself and your own skills. That means: On the one hand, employees have to know that learning on the job is desirable, but on the other hand, they have to take on more personal responsibility for it. Last but not least, this also contributes to the employer brand.
The decisive factor here is the growth mindset that managers need to bring with them and awaken in their teams: they need to be aware of which skills they are still lacking and where they can improve. The further development of one’s own abilities and skills can take place in various ways: through third parties, such as seminars, workshops or apps, through trying things out and leaving one’s own comfort zone, or together with others (working out loud). It is important in any learning process to give it the necessary time and to avoid disruption. In addition, one should set goals that correspond to the SMART method, i.e. are specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and time-bound. These goals should be achieved in small steps, and intermediate successes should also be celebrated. After all, learning shouldn’t just help you progress, it should also be fun.
The linking of digital, technological and social skills is crucial for the future viability of companies. It is no longer enough to select employees who only have individual skills. The challenge is both finding those who already have a wide range of these skills and empowering your own people to expand their own skill sets.
To do this, employers must also fulfill their part of the cooperation: Anyone who demands extensive skills and a willingness to develop further must also meet the expectations of the employees. Lifelong learning can only be expected if the necessary prerequisites for it are created. This reciprocity strengthens the credibility of the employer brand, increases employee satisfaction and ultimately leads to better results and a good working atmosphere.
The Mission Female business network, founded by Frederike Probert, is actively committed to more female power in business, society, media, culture, sports and politics. It unites successful women across all industries with the aim of making further professional progress together.
