Unlocking Continuous Learning in Digital Transformation: A Personal Journey

Embarking on the path of continuous improvement has been a cornerstone of my professional life. I embraced the idea of vision boards and 90 day goal setting early in my career, and doing so this month made me realize that I should put my Doctorate of Business Administration aspiration on pause. My previous learning milestone was focused on obtaining a Chief Information Officer designation (CIO.D) from the University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management and the CIO Association of Canada , and my next learning challenge will focus on strengthening my financial management skills.

Creating a Culture of Learning: The Key to Transformation

Providing employees time and space to learn is a key step in cultivating an environment of continuous learning, and any organization attempting a transformation must shift to a mindset of continuous improvement where employees constantly challenge the status quo by experimenting and testing ideas.

Over the next several months I will share my rough-draft research notes for my research proposal on public sector digital transformation. The information that I will discuss will reinforce that there is no one size fits all prescriptive approach to do a digital transformation because each organization has its unique combination of culture, people, process, and tools.  Leaders responsible for leading enterprise wide digital transformation efforts must be adaptable and capable of nurturing an environment that equips and empowers employees to learn.

Defining Successful Digital Transformation

I see successful digital transformation as a series of individual coordinated changes that influence organizational culture shifts to use data and digital technologies in new or improved ways to deliver value.  The changes spread through an organization, and only endure because the change has been accepted.  Most digital transformation projects will fail because they lack the vision, clarity in knowing where to start, and confidence in execution when faced with cultural resistance.  An approach to digital transformation should be anchored in three core tenants: simplicity, actionable, and repeatable.   

Challenges in Digital Transformation

Many organizations stumble with enduring digital transformation because they work in isolation and make technology decisions first, without having clarity on purpose.  Approaches to transformation must frame the opportunity, focus investments, mobilize the organization, and sustain the transformation.

Upcoming Themes and Your Feedback

Drawing from global public sector experiences, I will explore several themes in the upcoming posts. If you're an executive leading an enterprise-wide digital transformation, I welcome your feedback as we delve into these topics:

1. The importance of the preliminary assessment as a first step.
2. Adopting a repeatable approach to transformation.
3. Identifying what to transform across the enterprise.
4. Adapting leadership styles to support transformation.
5. Viewing transformation as a journey, not a project.