Every business today has become a technology business. Technology is embedded in digitalizing processes across functions, in ensuring hybrid work options, in leveraging data for decision making, in reaching out to customers through digital channels, in enabling digital payment solutions and also in many cases, selling digitally. The onset of Generative AI has made this technology imperative even more urgent.

A study from Deloitte Digital emphasizes that 81% of leaders believe AI will significantly impact customer and employee experience in the coming years. However, there are uncertainties around privacy, misinformation, and bias.

In this digitally transformed and still transforming world, today's leaders face a myriad of complex decisions, many of which revolve around technology. These technology decisions encompass strategic planning, resource allocation, risk management, implementation, and deriving value from technology investments.

How do leaders build their skills to ace their dynamic roles?

It is useful to think of leadership skills in this new paradigm as a T shaped structure. If the head of the T represents the domain skills that CXOs imbibe over years of honing their expertise, the long tail of the T represents the technology skills that leaders need to master.

And herein lies the key conundrum in leadership learning today. While domain and functional skills are crafted over years of experience, technology knowledge is not an innate skill for many leaders. Accenture, in a report titled “Let there be change”, revealed that 65% of executives admit they lack the necessary technology expertise for a successful AI-led transformation. This gap underscores the critical need for continuous learning and adaptation among leaders to stay competitive and drive innovation within their organizations.

Which brings us to the next question. What should leaders prioritize in this learning journey and how can they choose the right learning paths?

Leaders need to choose programs that provide both individualized learning as well as the right mix of peer leaders to help augment their learning.

1. Tangible outcome focused tech learning

For emerging leaders who are stepping up to critical leadership roles, it is critical to start thinking and planning of technology initiatives that are outcome driven. As a part of that, user research and user centric design thinking are important to plan the right and targeted innovations that can drive outsized impact.

Keeping this goal in mind, we have designed our Advanced Certification Programme in Design thinking and Innovation Management for Leaders with Indian Institute of Management Lucknow to get a practical experience of thinking of technology innovations from first principles. Coupled with that, a specially curated Senior Management Program from Indian Institute of Management Udaipur helps them to align with the key outcomes and performance indicators they would be enabling in their expanded roles.

Leaders attending these programs get to meet other leaders at similar trajectories, combining the course learning with powerful peer learning as well.

Techno-functional learning

Each sector today is at the cusp of a big leap with technology. If the Financial Services industry is today enabling digital lending, payment and savings opportunities, the Edtech sector is assessing how to enable the right student learning outcomes. The sectors are vast and varied and within that, there are specific audience group needs and possible technology led solutions for each of these.

To help emerging and existing leaders design the best-in-class technology solutions for their specific sectors, we have enabled our techno-functional learning modules.

Our Advanced Management Programme in FinTech and Financial Blockchain with Indian Institute of Management Calcutta is the first and longest running FinTech program in the country. It arms leaders with the latest information to craft leadership careers in the rapidly changing world of FinTech where leaders have to balance innovation with regulatory compliance.

"School leaders under-utilize data for decision-making: less than 20% of school leaders use data to make curriculum changes and only 25% use it to incentivize teachers." shares Global School Leaders Report. Our Education Leader's Programme from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, is for Education leaders, teachers and entrepreneurs to navigate the world of Educational Technology and data to make the right data-driven decisions for their learning programs and schools.

Banking is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Statista reports that two third of transactions are expected to go digital by 2026. This would change the way people bank and leaders need to imbibe the mindset to enable such a digital shift across banking solutions. This first of its kind program from National Institute of Business Management, Advanced Programme in Digital Banking and Leadership provides just that practical knowledge and experience for participants.

Through these programs, leaders can learn and apply the technology learning needed specifically, for their individual sectors.

3. Transformed focused tech learning

With the current tailwinds from technology, business models for many companies are getting disrupted. Leaders need to act fast to assess the ways in which they can transform their products, customer experience, target segments etc. For example, leaders who can discern valuable AI applications and implement them effectively stand to gain significant organizational efficiencies and drive future-proof innovations. At the same time, while enabling growth, leaders must ensure that robust cybersecurity measures are in place, as the cost of failure is too high.

Through our Advanced Programme in AI for Leaders with Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, we strive to provide senior leaders with that personalized learning experience which can enable them, in turn, to develop the right AI solutions for their companies. Similarly, the Advanced Programme in Digital Business Leadership with Indian Institute of Management Calcutta helps senior leaders to assess key digital transformation moments for their businesses.

In today’s world, leaders must first acknowledge their role as technology learning leaders. As technology continues to evolve, so too must the leadership strategies that harness its potential. Every leader, we believe, needs to be a technology leader in this dynamic paradigm. These Learning leaders will be those who prioritize continuous learning, for their teams, and more importantly, for themselves, specifically upskilling themselves on technology-led learning. Through this, they can emerge as the shapeshifters of the emerging leadership juggernaut in the age of AI.