ASSIGNMENT COVER PAGE

Course Code: BUSM2519

Course Name: Leading In The Age Of Digital Disruption

Location & Campus: RMIT SGS Vietnam

Title of Assignment: Assignment 1: Individual Report

File (s) Submitted: BUSM2519_S3824893_Nguyen Le Binh Minh

Team Name/Group #:

Student Name Student ID Number Student Contribution to Assessment

Nguyen Le Binh Minh S3824893 100%

Assignment Due Date: 22nd November 2021

Date of Submission: 21st November 2021

Number of Pages including this one: 10 pages

Word Count 1534 words

Main content, excluding appendices and
references)
Nguyen Le Binh Minh – S3824893
Nguyen Le Binh Minh – S3824893

Table of Contents

1. Executive summary ...............................................................................................................................1

2. Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1

3. Impacts of Industry 4.0..........................................................................................................................1

4. Leadership in Digital Age .......................................................................................................................2

5. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................4

References .....................................................................................................................................................5

Appendix........................................................................................................................................................7
Nguyen Le Binh Minh – S3824893

1. Executive summary

Leaders throughout the world are unaware of what it might take to succeed and manage in the modern
age. The tides of chaotic transitions include digitalization, disruptive competitors, the need for
immediate adaptability, and a highly complex and demanding workforce, which demand more from
leaders than what most can deliver (Ready et al, 2020). The need for change is urgent, and time is not
on the side of executives who are clinging to outdated methods of working and managing. This
executive paper’s purpose is straightforward: to evaluate the impacts of the evolving nature of society,
technology, and hierarchies on the future of leadership and identify leadership qualities suitable to
lead employees and organization. A semi-interview with a real-life leader was conducted to provide
deeper analysis and insights on the implementation of leadership theory.

2. Introduction

As digitization impacts nearly every business activity in today's organizations, the issue of whether and
how this development affects executives’ leadership and interactions with their subordinates also
emerges (El Sawy, Kraemmergaard, Amsinck, & Vinther, 2016). Therefore, A situation like this
prompted a significant transformation in leadership approaches. Therefore, a semi-interview with a
real-life leader is conducted to further strengthen my position. Nguyen Ngoc Long, working as general
manager in the automotive and lubricants industry, with five-year experience in distribution of
imported lubricants and 2 years of automotive maintenance and repair, described his encounter with
digital disruption as “not a pleasing experience”. By comparing his perspective with existing leadership
literature, characteristics of digitalization were discovered and the influence of digitalization on
leadership was explored and deepened. The traits impacted not only how performed each type of
leadership, but also how they represented their leadership via the use of several strategies, leadership
adaptation ability and processes to improve their leadership styles.

3. Impacts of Industry 4.0

Across the globe, the wave of digital transformation is accelerating. Emerging technologies, the
abundance of data and smarter ways of getting insights are changing the way businesses operate
(Hopwood, 2019). As a result, leaders are expected to harness these technological advances to drive
business growth and raise productivity. However, the thought of investing in disruptive technologies
to get ahead of the competition as well as achieving stakeholders’ needs and expectations sounds
tempting, it is also important to buy and implement correct technology. The interviewed leader
addressed the impacts of digital disruption on the company as follow:

“Working in our sector, it is pretty usual to encounter new versions of software that look
promising but aren't quite ready for real-world use. These new releases or technologies may be

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either fascinating and exciting, with the company ready to try it out, or conservative, decide to wait
until most of the bugs have been fixed.”

Furthermore, digital disruption entails the altering of the entire structure and operation of
organizations (Berman & Marshall, 2012; Rogers, 2016). There is no denying that the digital age benefit
organizations by boosting connectivity, transparency and interconnectedness among employees, it
also modifies the skills required. Since technological advances contribute to more knowledge-based
companies, in particular, the transformation to automated work routine, it is understandable that
employees must be well-qualified (Schwarzmüller, Brosi, Duman & Welpe, 2018). The leader shared
his real-life experience on this matter as follow:

“To be able to function new technology and tools used in the workplace, the requirements for
business have changed, for both managers and employees. It is essential to continuously learn and
leverage your skills, especially problem solving, creativity and efficiently dealing with large amounts
of information.”

Additionally, leaders are required to be aware of the transition in the nature of work due to social and
digital technologies and modify their workplace practices appropriately. Leaders must also behave as
ideal examples, establish and nurture cultural norms that foster positive perceptions toward change,
create suitable organizational hierarchies, and make sure that workers have comprehensive up-to-
date knowledge (Day et al., 2014). Executives should also remove roadblocks to the adoption of
advanced technology as well as open opportunities for staffs to communicate with them (Bondarouk
& Rul, 2008).

4. Leadership in Digital Age

To lead successfully at each period in history, a certain set of competencies and behaviours that align
with the needs of the time are required. This has significant consequences for leadership practice and
theory in terms of a leader's competencies and capacities, as well as how they implement this
transformation (Korhonen, 2015).

In addition to adopting new technology, a leader must also practice adaptive leadership. As the pace
and scale of digital transformation indicate a high level of uncertainty, adaptive leaders are required
to foresee challenges and opportunities and propose the best strategies for achieving business
objectives (Hogan, 2008; Obolensky, 2014). From the interview, the manager acquired a strong sense
of responsibility to discovering new knowledge and making numerous adjustments to navigate the
organization:

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“In order to create an effective implementation plan, I must conduct my own research and collect
relevant facts. It is easy to become overwhelmed by new information and technology. The next thing
I decided to do is concentrate on our scope and approach as a company, to be only those issues that
have strong core competence. Simultaneously, I must also analyze and re-evaluate my own
situations and goals as well as be open to external impulses all the time.”

Aside from the ability to create a transformative digital vision, digital leaders must be able to energize
stakeholders by engagement. In terms of implementation, the capacity of an adaptive leader is to steer
subordinates to a new setting, lead with integrity and sympathy, willing to accept criticism and make
immediate improvements (Heifetz et al., 2009). The manager further emphasized the importance of
stakeholders’ involvement on their willingness to change accordingly:

“The participation of stakeholders, partners, suppliers, team members, and employees is

required to drive the entire company towards digitalization. This is not my decision alone to choose
which technology or direction is suitable for the company’s development. By guaranteeing regular
interchange throughout my organization, I am able to persuade people to change and make the
process operate more smoothly."

The impact of increased transparency and decision-enabling qualities of digitalization on digital

leadership is also highlighted in this statement. Instead of making decisions on their own, leaders
choose to be more transparent with their visions and values as well as include employees in the
decision-making process.

Furthermore, considering digitization disrupts working environments and organizational hierarchies,

leaders are required to alter their leadership style in order to effectively impact and motivate their
subordinates. In the interview, the manifestation of these characteristics developed into new shapes
as a result of digitalization is detected:

"From a leadership standpoint, there is a natural tendency to be extremely autocratic, especially

in a workplace where everything is pretty much result-oriented and leaders have complete control
over the decision-making process. I believe it will be more handful to manage in these more
unstructured networking environments where they engage more parties with differentiating
personalities. We must develop new approaches to inspire and influence our employees when the
organization's borders are erased."

The additional consequences of digitalization on their leadership approaches are also addressed here:
advanced technology is integrated into workmanship routine along with unstructured and more fluid
organizations, affecting the methods they maintain their roles as transformational influencers (Bass,
1985). In terms of transformational leadership and team leadership, leaders are able to transform their

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team to recognize them as positive inspirers by increasing openness and quantity of knowledge (Myers
& Patrick, 2019; Westerman et al., 2014).

Another point mentioned was executives now had a strong sense of being on more equal levels with
the subordinates due to digitalization. The leader experienced a strong shift from previously being
distant mentors to displaying vulnerability and empathy towards others’ lack of digital knowledge and
skills through honesty to demonstrate better leadership:

“Because new technology is incorporated into every aspect of our daily work routine, it is critical
that every employee understands how things function and is capable of making their own decisions.
However, since the digital disruption occurred quickly, some employees lack digital proficiency in
something and are embarrassed about it. I usually just be honest with them and let them know it's
common.”

Rather than operating from a place of authority or influence, executives exposed their own flaws to
nourish and encourage the growth of the employees and build a healthier working environment. The
executives and subordinates confronted the problem together by normalizing the overall lack of digital
skills and competency among employees when it came to utilizing business software and applications.

5. Conclusion

In today's businesses, management is identified as a difficult responsibility since digitalization affects

practically every corporate function and each role participated within the organization, resulting in
several unique circumstances. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for an effective management style,
but using the correct tools and expertise and modifying accordingly can assist. In this article, we offer
an overview of the changes resulting from the digital revolution in terms of work design and
leadership, as well as a comparison of real-life leader experiences to the current literature, which is
exceedingly fragmented. In addition, his insights into work and leadership are provided to analyze the
effectiveness of leadership in the digital age.

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Bass, B., M., 1985, ‘Leadership and performance beyond expectations’, Free Press, New York : London.

Berman, S, Marshall, A, 2014, ‘The next digital transformation: from an individual-centered to an

everyone-to-everyone economy’, Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 42(5), pp. 9–17.

Bondarouk, T, V, & Ruël H, J, M, 2008, HRM systems for successful information technology
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Heifetz, R, A, R., Grashow, A, & Linsky, M, 2009, ‘The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics
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Hogan, T, J, 2008, ‘The adaptive leadership maturity model’, Organization Development Journal, Vol.26
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Hopwood, S, 2019, ‘Five Benefits And Three Challenges Technology Can Bring To Global Companies’,
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Hunt, C, S, 2015, ‘Leading in the digital era’, TD: Talent Development, viewed 7th November 2021,
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management leadership’, Academic Press.

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Klus, M, F, Müller, J, 2020, ‘Identifying Leadership Skills Required in the Digital Age’, Munich Society
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transformation’, Harvard Business Press.

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Appendix

Picture proof of online interview with Leader Nguyen Ngoc Long.