INTHEBLACK October 2021 - Magazine - Page 18
GET SMART
// T I M E S T H R E E
COMPILED BY NICOLA HEATH
TOO MANY
CHIEFS?
Workplaces have seen a proliferation of “chiefs” recently: chief
disruption officer and chief storyteller among them. Have we
reached “chief” saturation point, or do we need more chiefs?
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18 ITB October 2021
01
D R B E AT R I C E H O F M E Y R
H O F M E Y R C O N S U LT I N G
In our unpredictable business landscape, it is
imperative that companies innovate differently,
embrace digital, reinvent products and services,
and transform customer experience at a
breathtaking pace. It is tempting to think that
adding more “C” roles will meet these challenges.
In some cases, adding a chief diversity officer,
chief disruption officer, chief digital officer, chief
innovation officer or chief customer officer can
make a tangible difference by shifting the
leadership team’s mindset and focus.
However, to thrive in this new world, leadership
teams need to address more fundamental issues
of agility and the elimination of organisational
silos. Agility requires companies to blur the lines
between product, sales, marketing, operations
and technology.
The C-suite roles of the future will be those that
cut across traditional silos and enable the company
to look beyond the current strategic environment
to envision a dynamic picture of what a less
obvious future might hold.
It is helpful to start by considering which “new”
C-suite capabilities you need and then identify
which roles might bring these into your company.
It is worth thinking about the size and governance
of your C-suite, and whether it is too big and
cumbersome to enable agile decision-making.
In time, it may even become apparent that some
C-suite roles contribute to silo-thinking and should
be phased out to be replaced by roles that enable
the company to operate nimbly in an everchanging environment.
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The C-suite roles of the future will be those that cut
across traditional silos and enable the company to
look beyond the current strategic environment to
envision a dynamic picture of what a less obvious
future might hold.