The winning duo: Augmented manager and digital transition in business

THE AUGMENTED MANAGER: THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Nowadays, we talk a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI), emphasizing the possibilities it offers, its impact on work, but above all on the need for employees to adapt to it by mastering new skills. All sectors are concerned by the development of Artificial Intelligence in business and the transition it initiates:

• Bank and insurance
• Finance
• Industry
• Retail
• Business service
• …

Nevertheless, within a company, the manager remains the keystone of a successful digital transformation. Today’s manager should no longer hide in contentment. He needs to “increase” his skills through the prisms of the development of new technologies and the importance of digitalization in business. Here are the qualities and skills of the “augmented manager”, as we call it today.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL SKILLS

The “augmented manager” must above all accept the idea that AI is an opportunity and not a challenge. As a reminder: AI consists of implementing techniques allowing machines to imitate human intelligence. With AI, it becomes easier and faster to deal with time-consuming and low value-added tasks: making appointments, organizing meetings, responding to convenience emails, distributing roles in a team, etc.

But the integration of AI within the company supposes, for the manager, to master all the tools which make it possible to work and rework the data: research, analysis, redrawing, exploitation, valuation… In order to keep the full control of the digital tools made available to support the manager. Even more: it must be the lever for the digitization of its organization. To this end, he must inquire about the new essential skills to welcome, react to or initiate transformation projects: technological watch, mastery of social media, digital marketing, data analytics, etc.

THE AUGMENTED MANAGER: AGILITY, COLLABORATION AND LEADERSHIP

In addition to mastering AI and digital skills, the “augmented manager” must have other secondary skills:

• Business agility: it makes it possible to bring flexibility into the processes and to build a relationship of trust between employees, the only way to deal with more complex problems and projects. According to the agile method, the manager must identify the small changes that do not have large apparent impacts, but whose implementation optimizes the efficiency of the processes;
• Promote collaboration: the augmented manager is a real expert in human relations. He knows how to play with the levers that promote collaboration such as freedom of expression, the enhancement of collective performance, the facilitation of collaborative work, the sparing use of email, the use of new collaborative and social tools, the reinforcement cohesion;
• Develop leadership: the augmented manager must be a good leader. But developing one’s leadership is an everyday job focused on a sense of responsibility, improving knowledge, motivating others, self-confidence, charisma or even empathy.

AUGMENTED TRANSITION MANAGER

The augmented manager is the driving force behind the digital transition in companies thanks to their many skills. This makes it a rare resource, especially since developing an augmented manager is a significant investment for the company.

Except that the digital transition does not wait! It seems imperative for companies to answer the call. For the company, the solution, when internal resources run out, is to use the services of an augmented interim manager. He is the professional best able to support an organization in the digitization of its processes. For more or less long-term missions, the augmented transition manager supports the company in its digital transition projects, with its skills and expertise to enable companies to evolve effectively towards digital.