In the post-pandemic society, companies face a challenge beyond the technological transformation itself: becoming successful digital companies. And that implies that technology cannot be the only lever on which change is based because it is also necessary to have the right talent and people.

During the pandemic, technology was a backbone that helped many companies maintain their activity. But it also highlighted the digital divides that still exist, especially at the cultural and skills level. That is why the great challenge now is that of digital training.

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Leaders also need new skills to manage complexity and the new digital environment in this new context. Empathy, talent, adaptation to change or operational execution capacity are already essential in the new power structures. Because being a digital company implies adopting new procedures. But also implement a new mindset that reaches all levels of the organization. And that, of course, also means fostering new leadership.

A technological revolution that is changing power structures

Technology has not only changed the way we relate to each other or our work habits. Digital transformation has modified the business culture and the processes of the companies. And with this has also come a change in the power structures of successful digital companies.

In the traditional leadership model, the figure of a single leader was familiar. He marked the objectives to the middle managers so that, in turn, they transmitted them down. A purely hierarchical structure in which employees did only what they were told, performing relatively easy tasks to explain and measure.

Now, the leader can no longer define an objective and delegate it. If he wants to achieve success, the best way to do it is to give autonomy to employees with the necessary capacity to carry out complex tasks, organized into small teams of executors with a high level of shared knowledge and aligned towards a common goal. But, then, in whose hands is the power?

Paradigm shift around leadership

Especially in technology companies, but also in those with the most complex business models, this evolution is already a reality. It is the executors who can decide what and when. In other words, they are the ones who have all the responsibility and end up monopolizing the formal (and informal) power to make strategic decisions or even a decision-making capacity more significant than that of their managers.

Therefore, there is a paradigm shift in leadership and power. People management and executive leadership are separated, and an organizational chart no longer marks a hierarchical structure. The most important thing is the merits, which come from the ability to execute each specific project.

So what is the new role for managers to take on? According to experts, something that is key at a time of business transformation: