MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Dodging Digital Blind Spots

The mindset gap creates four digital blind spots that leaders should know and avoid.

Leaders today have a huge developmental challenge. Many lack the skills and mindset to thrive in the digital economy.

MIT SMR and Cognizant recently completed a survey of more than 4,000 managers and leaders from over 120 countries around the world on the Future of Leadership in the Digital Economy. The results revealed that only 12% of respondents strongly agreed that their organizations’ leaders had the right mindset, and a scant 9% strongly agreed that their leaders had the proper skills to compete effectively in the new economy. But we shouldn’t start pointing fingers at only our most senior leaders: Just 13% of all executives surveyed strongly agreed that the rest of their organizations were prepared. Interviews with executives and scholars echo concerns about individual preparedness to lead in the digital economy. “When it comes to leading in today’s digital world,” notes Michael Schrage, an MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy researcher, “what I don’t see are enough leaders who are living in the business and leading by example. Actions speak louder than words, and actions spring from mindsets.”

About the Author

Douglas A. Ready is a senior lecturer in organizational effectiveness at the MIT Sloan School of Management, founder and CEO of the International Consortium for Executive Development Research (ICEDR), and MIT SMR guest editor. He tweets @doug_ready.

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