ThoughtWorks Releases First-Ever Report on Courageous Leadership Among Successful C-Suite Executives

ThoughtWorks, a global software consultancy released a first of its kind report, “The Next Big Disruption: Courageous Executives”, revealing what sets top business leaders apart from their competition.

 

The report profiles an elite segment of C-Suite leaders referred to as “Courageous Executives” in the US, the UK, Australia and India and the findings underscore the critical role technology plays in business strategy, from navigating the chaos of digital transformation to how they’re setting their business up for future success. The report also sheds light on the leadership styles of Courageous Executives including their tolerance for risk and failure, their use of customer insights and the ways leaders in all four countries are preparing for the future of work.

 

This report, developed by ThoughtWorks in partnership with research agency Northstar, features insight from Fortune 500 C-Suite executives who are: advocates for digital transformation; have an active role in directing how technology enables their business; have seen their company’s revenue or profit increase significantly due to a recent technology change; and 85 percent of which self-identified as risk takers.

 

“As companies across all industries embrace the changes of our increasingly digital world, we’re seeing leaders at the helm of these companies dive deeper into how technology is implemented and how it works,” said ThoughtWorks President and CEO, Guo Xiao.

 

“I began my time in the industry as a developer, giving me the tools I needed to approach business with a technology first perspective. Executives across the globe are learning that a strong grasp of technology matters and they’re finding ways to adapt. Our findings show that 54 percent of Courageous Executives have developed a deep understanding of technology with a remarkable 57 percent of these leaders reporting having written code,” noted Xiao.

 

"A tenacious commitment to embrace technology is what today sets apart truly Courageous Executives."

 

According to Ange Ferguson, Group Managing Director for ThoughtWorks Asia Pacific, “In this new age of digital disruption, technology is being catapulted closer to the business core and that’s challenging the traditional C-suite. They need to think and behave differently when it comes to the role of technology in their strategy, and to question how they are engaging technology to produce better outcomes for the business.

 

“While capability was once a barrier to what’s possible, now the constraint lies in the willingness of decision makers to be courageous with foundational technologies,” she said.

 

REA, which operates Australia’s leading residential, commercial and share property websites, as well as a number of property portals in Asia and interests in the US and India, credits its impressive growth and success to a culture based on consistent innovation and invention.

 

“The REA business is built around customer delivery, which demands that we work to the same agile rhythm across all levels of the organisation. Visualised work, team stand-ups and collaboration enable the innovation and invention that has become part of our DNA,” said Nigel Dalton, Chief Inventor, REA.

 

“Our competition is global and the landscape is set to change as AirBnB, Facebook, Google, eBay, and WeChat become major players in property over the next few years. We’re embracing the opportunities this creates by focusing our culture of innovation and invention on the technologies that will change how people find property - robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality and data science.   

 

“That, along with our diverse backgrounds, creative thinking and scalability, will see us continue to deliver new products and services to market faster than anyone else, and ensure we are the world’s best.”

 

According to the report, notable themes uniting Courageous Executives include:

 

Proactive Approach to Technology Changes

According to the report, to keep pace and anticipate future technology shifts, Courageous Executives conduct research, analyze their competitors, troubleshoot tech challenges and hire subject matter experts. A majority of Courageous Executives (65 percent) say that digitizing and adapting to new technology is a top business priority followed by growth.  

 

• Research – 63 percent of leaders do their own research to stay ahead of technology changes. Top trends they’re exploring include security threats; human and machine interaction; new hardware, software and operational platforms; machine learning and artificial intelligence; virtual reality and augmented reality.

 

• Competitor Analysis – In all four countries, big tech decisions are most often fueled by competition. Asked to identify the largest driver motivating change, 47 percent pointed to their competitors.

 

Tolerance for Risk and Willingness to Fail

Understanding risks and its impact on ongoing business success is an important characteristic of a Courageous Executive along with the ability to rebound after a perceived failure.

 

• Appetite for Risk - In fact, 87 percent of all executives agree that taking risks is necessary to achieve goals and maintain a strong competitive advantage with 62 percent pointing to their willingness to take risks their competitors won’t as a key differentiator.  

 

• Failing Well  - Courageous Executives reported their most common reaction to these setbacks was to focus on what went right with the second being to stay as positive as possible. When asked how failure affected their employees, 54 percent globally said that they believed failure made them even more motivated to succeed.

 

Use of Customer Insights

Throughout the world, courageous leaders recognize the necessity of maintaining a close connection to their customers. 91 percent report that customer input directly informs their strategic decision-making. While there is some agreement as to the best methods for gathering that customer input, there’s still a lack of consensus among executives when it comes to what data they’re collecting and who is assessing the insights.  

• Data Source - Overall, the most common source of insight is customer research, followed by social feeds which are monitored by 68 percent of Australian, 60 percent of UK and Indian and only 38 percent of US leaders. Other ways executives gather information includes using analytics from a content management system or implementing a designated customer insights task force.

 

• Customer Engagement -  Gathering data from multiple sources is universally valued, but 87 percent of executives report having an internal team dedicated to their customers. Additionally, 58 percent of US and 48 percent of Australian executives say they speak to their customers themselves, which is far more than 32 percent in India and 22 percent in the UK.

 

The Future of Work

Across continents, nearly half of all courageous leaders describe their company culture as “team-first,” meaning they hire primarily for cultural fit, with skills and experience the second consideration. A third define their company as having an “elite” culture, described as hiring only the best to change the world by untested means.

• Subject Matter Experts - An overwhelming majority of Courageous Executives (90 percent) emphasized the importance of key hires, stating that discovering subject matter experts and new talents helps their context and credibility and is crucial to success.

 

• Tech’s Impact - 70 percent believe that replacing white-collar workers with technology is a natural progression and to be expected. To prepare for the potential impact of technology on the workforce, 87 percent of leaders admit to researching new technologies that may help them save on staff costs. 83 percent also agree that they’re preparing for the impact of technology replacing their workers by limiting new hires to reduce ongoing overhead.

 

To download the report visit www.thoughtworks.com/courage

 

Methodology

Developed by ThoughtWorks’, this report is based on data collected by Northstar Research Partners from C-Suite executives from Fortune 500 companies with 100 employees or more, 87 percent of whom have occupied their office for at least three years and 79 percent reporting more than $100 million in revenue. The executives are primarily Presidents or Chief Executive Officers, the data also includes insights from the full C-suite including CIOs, CMOs, COOs, CTOs from a variety of industries from finance and retail to healthcare and manufacturing and more.  

 

About ThoughtWorks

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