There has been plenty of discussion about the need to provide training to workers to acquaint them with digital skills. Some high-profile companies, such as Amazon, have committed almost a billion dollars to bring their workforces up to speed with digital and artificial intelligence skills. Worker training is a necessity these days, but for many technology managers and professionals, there's just of a pressing need to train upward in the ranks.
While it can be assumed that most of today's executives understand the need to accelerate digitally to remain competitive, many simply don't know what goes into making this a reality. Since these decision-makers control the budgets that can deliver or support digital capabilities, it's important that they be familiarized with the challenges and benefits of technology. Let's face it, corporate leaders are leaning heavily on their technology teams to guide them through the disruptions that are flattening entire industries and upending their relationships with customers. As part of this, it's incumbent that technology professionals provide education along with that guidance.
Digital or technology savvy is not a top requirement for executive or board-level jobs, a recent study[1] published in Harvard Business Review finds. A perusal of executive search listings finds that while high-focus roles such as CIO and CTO mention "technology" or "digital" skills as part of their criteria, this drops to 60% for CEO listings, 40% for COO, CFO and board listings, and 30% for HR leaders. The researchers, led by J. Yo-Jud Cheng, conducted an analysis of more than 100 search specifications for C-suite positions in Fortune 1000 companies across a broad range of industries, posted between January 2016 and June 2020.
"Most companies focused on just a subset of job roles in their digital transformation efforts, indicating that many