Learnings from the decline of the CDO
In the mid-2000s you could not throw a Blackberry in a TED talk without hitting a shiny new Chief Digital Officer. Fast forward to mid-2021, and the landscape is quite different. CDOs have, on average, the shortest lifespan of any leader in the executive suite (31 months). The role, which peaked somewhere in 2016, has been on the decline, with fewer openings, diminishing gravitas, and increasing ambiguity around current responsibilities and future needs.
But why? And what can other CXOs learn from this dynamic?
While the reasons are complex, three that may have had more of an impact than others are suggested below, with some pro tips and ways in which other executives and leaders could avoid the same pitfalls.
A False promise and a shitty attitude:
CDOs were often brought in by boards and CEOs with much fanfare and a promise to transform organizations into optimized digital operations. Other executives are naturally less than keen to have more competition, and to have someone peeking under their hoods and pulling some wires. The typical decline of the CDO relationship with the rest of the executive team is beautifully described in this 2020 article from the World Economic Forum and goes through interesting steps- from excitement and promise, through disconnect and ambiguity, to frustration and disconnect.
Pro tip: You may know the answer to a real problem. That’s fantastic. To drive impact, focus on helping, informing, and improving rather than calling out shortcomings and deficiencies. You have no idea what was there before you. You have no idea what is the set of circumstances and limitations that brought the organization to where it is. Work hard, stay humble, be nice.
Lack of clarity, structure, and jurisdiction:
Chief Digital Officers were born out of a recognition that all businesses would become a digital business, and organizations needed someone to drive that change. However, the ill-defined nature of what digital meant to different organizations resulted in a lack of clarity on what the CDO was supposed to deliver. An app? A wholesale transformation of service delivery? A CDO who doesn’t have accountability for the delivery of clearly defined outcomes cannot articulate value to the organization, and without clearly defining success, they were only set up for failure.
Without a clear purview, it became increasingly difficult for decision-makers (CEOs, boards) to clearly articulate and quantify the impact CDOs create, where they create it, and how.
Pro tip: If you are a Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Equity Officer, Chief People Person, or one of the many other CXO roles that have been popping up in the past few years, make sure you, your fellow executives, and the company as a whole has a clear understanding of your role, jurisdiction, and responsibilities. Make sure that you don’t just have a title, but you have a budget for delivery. If you need others to deliver for you, get this written into their goals, objectives, budgets, and backlogs. Where and when possible, hold yourself and your team accountable to measurable metrics of both activity and impact. And make sure you scream those from the rooftop.
Writing yourself out of a job
CDOs were, and sometimes still are, brought in to implement much-needed transformation. The first few months and years are spent focusing on the high-impact, low-effort initiatives, and CDOs can point to direct or peripheral results quickly. Ideally, they also deliver meaningful, transformative change that embeds digital capabilities across the organization.
So, the organization is digital: what’s next? The basic digital knowledge, tools, and processes are now engrained across the organization, which now needs to pivot from a state of transformation to a state of sustainable change. Does the organization still need its CDO?
Pro tip: Accept that working oneself “out of a job” is an achievement and sign of success, not failure. State that early and often. Create a succession plan with your executive team for what comes next for you that draws upon your strengths in innovation, driving change, or other areas of expertise. And finally- think about what may be the next step for you with the organization, and once goals are achieved, what are some other challenges you can solve.