Forte Pulse 2024: A Competence Paradox

Leaders and decision-makers lack the necessary skills to handle digital transformation. This is revealed by the new Forte Pulse 2024 survey, conducted by the consulting firm Forte Digital. Experts refer to this as a competence paradox.

In the Forte Pulse 2024 survey, Forte Digital assessed digital maturity among Norwegian and Scandinavian businesses. A large majority (76 percent) of respondents indicated that management lacks the necessary competence and tools to handle digital transformation. At the same time, 67 percent stated that digital transformation is integrated into the company's strategy.

This is a paradox, according to Hans Huseklepp, Chief Experience Officer at Forte Digital.

– We’ve chosen to call this finding the 'Competence Paradox.' How can you succeed with digital transformation when those responsible for driving the processes and making decisions don’t have the right competence?

Huseklepp believes that leadership teams must become more aligned and specific about the impact they want from digitalization, and increasingly set goals and KPIs that cut across business areas and silos.

– The survey shows that many likely underestimate the human factor in digitalization. A successful digitalization initiative is more about people than technology. It’s about leadership, planning, anchoring, prioritization, communication, and training.

Huseklepp is supported by Johan Grönlund, CEO of Forte Digital. Grönlund believes that digital transformation sets new demands for competence and leadership.

– Leading an organization engaged in digital development requires something different from what many are used to. You must dare to give teams the mandate to determine which problems to solve and how. Then, you need to follow up on outcomes rather than the number of tasks completed (output), says Grönlund.

Rethinking Digital Transformation

Grönlund and Huseklepp believe that leaders and decision-makers need to rethink digital transformation.

– The word 'transformation' is often perceived as a process with a beginning and an end. I see it more as an ongoing state of change. This affects roles within the company, how resources are allocated, how leaders lead, and how success and progress are measured, says Grönlund.

Huseklepp's message is to set direction and identify initiatives that can create value both in the short and long term, simultaneously.

– If you try to solve everything at once, you often end up solving nothing. Start small, solve part of a specific problem, highlight and communicate the impact to generate engagement. Then it can be repeated again and again. Over time, you’ll be able to look back on a journey that has moved the company in the right direction, Huseklepp adds.