Reports > Management

The Era of DX, Leadership Quo Vadis

2025.12.10 Sung-Ii Jo

Sung-Ii Jo

#Hashtag

#leadership #organizational culture
The wave of digital transformation (DX), epitomized by AI, is sweeping across the globe. As almost everything is expected to change, leadership is no exception. In an environment where face-to-face operations are diminishing and the role of AI is expanding, the leader's role is becoming more critical than ever. Let us examine the shifting paradigms of leadership, representative best practices, and the profound implications these changes bring.
Table of Contents

  • 1. Shifting Leadership Paradigms in the Turbulent Era of DX

  • 2. Beyond Definition: Cultivating Leaders as a Core Imperative

  • 3. The Critical Factor: Followers’ Perception of Leadership

  • 4. Middle Managers, Not the Top, as the Core of Leadership

  • 5. The Era Demanding the Pursuit of Balanced Leadership

Executive Summary

  • ○ As digital transformation accelerates, the leadership paradigm for organizational management is undergoing a fundamental shift.

    • Leadership in the digital and AI era demands the role of an "Orchestrator" who balances the dynamics between technology and people.

    • This digital leadership signifies an integrative capability to guide organizational direction by treating data and AI as strategic partners.

    • Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe serve as prominent examples of this leadership model.

  • ○ In response to this paradigm shift, defining new leadership concepts is important, but systematically cultivating leaders is equally vital.

    • A structured "Leadership Development System" is emerging as a critical element for securing corporate competitiveness.

    • McKinsey defines a framework that strategically develops leaders—rather than leaving selection to chance—as a "Leadership Factory," emphasizing the necessity of systemic leadership cultivation.

    • This approach highlights four key success factors: direct CEO involvement, tailored design, data-driven management, and integrated succession planning.

  • ○ Looking at leadership from the perspective of followers rather than the leaders themselves, how followers perceive their leaders is of paramount importance.

    • The true essence of leadership is determined by the perceptions and evaluations of followers rather than the leaders' own assertions.

    • According to a Gallup survey, the core values required in modern leadership converge into four distinct pillars: Hope, Trust, Compassion, and Stability.

  • ○ The core of effective leadership lies in the execution of the middle manager's role, rather than that of executive management.

    • It is an established conventional wisdom that employee engagement and turnover are heavily influenced by relationships with immediate supervisors rather than overall corporate policies.

    • When Google analyzed the secrets of high-performing teams through "Project Oxygen," it identified coaching, open communication, and performance recognition as the most critical attributes of an effective manager.

  • ○ It is essential to pursue a balanced leadership approach capable of responding flexibly to diverse and complex situations.

    • The widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work post-COVID-19, coupled with the rise of generative AI, has redefined the fundamental role of leaders.

    • Deloitte defines leadership in the hybrid and AI era as a process of making "strategic choices under tension" across three domains—work, workforce, and the workplace. It stresses the importance of balancing 'stability and agility,' 'humans and technology,' and 'standardization and personalization.'

    • Ultimately, leadership in the hybrid and AI era offers three key insights: the art of balancing, the role of an orchestrator, and the necessity of transitioning toward a performance-driven culture.

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