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Cilla Benkö, CEO of Swedish Radio: The Evolution of Leadership in a Post-Pandemic World

Radio is regarded by many as a trusted source for reliable news, especially during crisis situations. Cilla Benkö, Director General & CEO of Swedish Radio, Sweden’s biggest radio broadcaster says: 

“Radio [has a] very important task of covering the pandemic and informing the public – while also reducing the risks of infection spreading and keeping our co-workers healthy.”  

Not only is Benkö a recurring international speaker for topics such as public service media, she is also passionate about freedom of expression, digital development and leadership. For those reasons, Management Events is thrilled to share her perspective on change management, redefining managerial roles, tech adoption drivers and challenges, and female representation in leadership teams.

 

Overcoming Change Management Hurdles  

 

Organizations are going through major changes right now, and change management is often a challenge. Was it a challenge in your organization as well, and how did you address it? 

Well, the answer to that is both yes and no. As a media company, with the journalistic trade at the very core of our organization, our co-workers are naturally interested in changes and trends surrounding the world. A big challenge, however, has been bringing the company together and keeping over 2,000 people, working from places all over the country, updated and aware of which changes in the ever-changing world are going to affect us. But also, to get everyone involved in what we need to do collectively to meet these changes, in order to get as equipped as possible for the future.

 

Some of the changes include the introduction of remote work for certain employees and the modification of schedules to cover breaking news related to COVID-19. The technical simplicity of radio is an advantage that allows stations to broadcast regularly and is flexible enough to include dedicated programs and podcasts about the pandemic.  

 

 Redefinition of the Manager Role

 

Businesses across industries had to adapt a lot in the past year – it’s not only the change in processes and technologies, but also the mental stress. In your opinion, how has leadership changed during and post-pandemic? Has the role and even definition of a manager been redefined? 

I must say that I have been incredibly impressed with the managerial level at Swedish Radio during these very challenging times. All over the company we have seen proof of enormous flexibility and creativity, finding new and smart solutions to new and existing challenges in connection with the pandemic, but also with the digital work environment that has been made a permanent part of everyday life. For managers, this has also meant finding new ways of securing collaboration, social structures and mutual learning within working groups. 

 

Forward-thinking change managers must redefine the concept of change management for their organizations. Change management initiatives are more likely to be met with clear communication and employee participation from the start. This is supported by Shona Elliot, best-selling author and executive management & leadership consultant, who highlights the importance of leaders prioritizing their employees and building a people-centric culture. 

 

Key Drivers and Challenges with Tech Adoption

 

What key challenges do you usually see when it comes to technology adoption, from the change management perspective? And how can these challenges be solved? 

The editorial environment is fast-paced with limited room for practical obstacles – so time is of course a key challenge. It’s therefore important to ensure all technology is adjusted to suit the actual needs of the organization and that the implementation of new technology and ways of working always comes with support and is scheduled, communicated and planned properly. Another key challenge for Swedish Radio is, of course, budget limitations that always makes it a necessity to prioritize.  

 

Results from Management Events’ survey on COVID-19 impacts on businesses reveal that revisions of budget and business strategy are the top focus areas for organizations in ensuring the smooth continuity of their operations. In addition, 59% of business leaders in Europe are reworking their budget plans and predictions, followed by a revision of business strategies and goals.  

In terms of tech adoption challenges, surveyed CHROs in Management Events’ Executive Trend Survey named the following — lack of the right training and skills, integration with legacy systems, and a culture that does not embrace experimentation.  

 

In your opinion, what are the key drivers for technological innovation today? How does it reflect in your organization? 

It is most definitely the way of working with multifunctional teams, where many different competences work together to find a solution that best meets the needs of the organization.  Technology must never be developed just for the sake of technology itself. At Swedish Radio, we have made innovation and technical development a priority, and that has equipped us well to cope with the unexpected – like the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

The need for innovation and technical development has been accelerated by the pandemic, pushing leaders to adopt new approaches for workflow processes in the shortest timeframes. In today’s remote working conditions, businesses need to remain efficient and prioritize quality over quantity. 

 

Women in Leadership

 

You were recently listed as one of “The most Powerful Women in Business Sweden”. What advice can you give to aspiring female business executives on growing in leadership roles? 

Never forget to listen, and especially remember to have respect and listen to those not agreeing with you. For me, it is crucial to make sure that an organization is brave enough to have as many perspectives as possible in ongoing discussions. One must never be afraid of debate. On the contrary, it’s key to success. Also, always allow people to make mistakes and learn from them. There is nothing more toxic to creativity than a fearful work environment. 

 

Did you know that women represent only 19.3% of executives and 7.9% of CEOs in publicly listed companies across the European Union?   

Women in the workplace have been negatively impacted during the pandemic and are more likely to have been retrenched. With closures of schools and daycare centers, women who still had jobs struggled to juggle childcare responsibilities and managing households. It is no wonder as many as two million women considered leaving the workforce in 2020.  

Less women working mean less women in leadership positions, and the financial consequences of this could be significant. Research by McKinsey & Company stated that company profits and share performance can show a 50% increment with strong female representation at C-suite level. 

Fortunately, some countries are paving the way for women empowerment in the workplace. According to PwC’s Women in Work 2021 report, Iceland, Sweden and New Zealand are leading the pack when it comes to closing the gender pay gap and increasing the number of full-time female employees.  

The definition of key leadership roles will continue to evolve as workplaces become more digitalized. Forward-thinking leaders need to embrace and adopt new innovations, provide employees equal opportunities to grow, work on building a diverse and inclusive team and most importantly, be unafraid of change. 

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Greg Williams, Editor-in-Chief of WIRED UK: “Organizations Should Be Thinking About the Next Threat”

What is the biggest lesson your organization has learnt from the past year? 

If the answer is that businesses must be prepared for anything, you are not alone.   

Research by McKinsey & Company revealed that agile organizations respond faster to crises. Therefore, creating an agile business culture should be high on every C-level’s list of priorities.  

It is time for leaders to relearn and revamp business strategies, build flexible facets within teams and make full use of new technologies. This begs the question: Is your organization prepared to tackle unprecedented changes and tech-related challenges? 

We speak to Greg Williams, editor-in-chief of WIRED UK and thought leader on future-shaping ideas, trends and technologies; for his take on what organizations should look out for in 2021 and beyond.

 

New Technologies and Opportunities

 

Technology, both a blessing and a curse of the 21st century, perpetually churns out new developments that businesses are struggling to catch up with. Industries are technology-saturated, resulting in overwhelmed leadership teams and employees. 

Williams cuts through the noise and highlights several key trends that will impact companies in the next few years:  

“AI will continue to be embedded throughout the organizational value chain, offering new insights and helping enterprises make better decisions.“ 

By leveraging data and artificial intelligence (AI), companies can improve all stages of their CX journey. For example, Amazon used AI and predictive analytics, before the browsing prospects even made a purchase, to unify data from customers, understand their patterns, predict their next step and recommend products based on their interests. 

Williams also stressed “the decarbonization of economies as automotive becomes electrified, cities become smarter and investors divest from fossil fuels.” 

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development supports Williams’ sentiment, stating that sustained decarbonization is the most effective way to manage climate change. Group CFO of Storebrand, Lars Aasulv Løddesøl, recommends adopting sustainable efforts to ensure long-term financial returns and that it is ultimately “the right thing to do” for any organization.  

Williams states there will be “new forms of automation and we’ll see an opportunity for home technologies” as people spend money on their living environments and on local services.” Home applications with embedded AI and automation features promise both advanced technological appliances and security. Trending home technologies include video door alarms, remote-controlled locks and ultra-modern burglar alarms.  

In addition, 2020 saw “the end of education as we know it, with learning moving online.” However, Williams feels that the social aspects of learning are hard to replicate in a virtual environment. 

 

A Whole New Automated World

 

Williams predicts that “back-office technologies such as RPA and AI-centric customer service will continue to deliver value, as will cloud.” 

PwC estimates that 45% of work activities can be automated with the help of RPA, saving $2 trillion in global workforce costs. The automation of repetitive processes will free up valuable time for managers and employees involved in finance and accounting, HR administration and claims processing, among others.  

Chatbots, the face of AI-centric customer service, have eased the workload of human support teams across industries by addressing common requests and filtering genuine enquiries. This will create “a shift away from keyboards as new interfaces begin to have applications both for consumer products and for enterprise,” Williams commented. 

The relevance of cloud technology is undeniable. Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud are three of the most popular cloud platforms in the market, and interviewed CIOs in our Executive Trend Survey are contemplating between the cloud computing services while some are even working with all three of the platforms. 

There is no choice but for organizations to accept and embrace “the gradual presence of automation in the physical world as well as the business operations functions we’re already seeing,” Williams says.  

 

Into the Unknown

 

Post-COVID, the immediate priority for decision makers should be ensuring their digital strategy facilitates effective scenario planning. 

So, what scenario planning strategies should businesses implement? It all boils down to looking ahead and being prepared. Williams strongly suggests all digital strategies should have an “in-built notion of constant uncertainty” moving forward.  

‘‘The cadence of regular audits of preparedness should now be increased in order to enable organizations to become more fluid and be able to deliver new products and always attune to client and customer needs,” Williams added.  

Even though the climate crisis may seem like a distant issue to many organizations, Williams states “their impacts will be felt throughout society unless urgent action is taken.” Fortunately, some progress has been made with heavy-emitting industries, including BP, Shell, Daimler, and Rio Tinto, taking on more green initiatives through the COVID-19 outbreak.  

Big players in finance and investment are also taking steps to combat climate change. BlackRock, asset manager giant, has pledged to penalize directors of companies that fail to manage environmental risks.  

However, Williams believes that ”we still need some significant technological breakthroughs in areas such as green steel and green concrete.” 

Here’s a staggering statistic: steel production makes up 7% to 10% of total carbon emissions — twice the amount from air travel. According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, approximately 14 percent of steel companies’ potential value is at risk if their environmental impact remains unchanged. 

German steelmaker, Salzgitter, is already aware of that risk and will be increasing green steel production to a “five-figure” volume this year with increasing demand from the automotive industry and white goods sector.  

Williams says, “all organizations should be thinking about the next threat.” 

Organizations that proactively revise and improve business practices with this mindset stand a better chance of surviving unforeseen obstacles – be it a global pandemic, economic collapse or climate crisis. 

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How Can CIOs Implement Effective Change Management?

Change management is inevitable in the era of digital transformation — at individual and enterprise levels. Over the past year, organizations across the globe experienced some form of change management out of necessity.

Shona Elliot, best-selling author and executive management & leadership consultant, shared her insights on organizational change management in a recent Transformation Thursday session on Clubhouse hosted by Management Events.  

“COVID has completely moved the needle in terms of what change looks like beyond the proper change management processes of the past,” she says.  

 

All eyes are on CIOs to not only spearhead the adoption of new technologies, but to also become leaders in change management. Easier said than done, right? 

The modern CIO may find it difficult to focus their energies on the right areas with so many elements in flux — rapid digitalization, customer expectations, technology advancements, cyber security and shifting go-to-market strategies, among others.  

Therefore, it is essential that CIOs craft change management strategies that can withstand the volatility of current times, as well as help their organizations enable effective transformations in 2021. 

 

CIO: The New Change Agent 

 

“Change management is the art of making organizations work well – and continue to work well.” – Michael K. Levine, author of People Over Process: Leadership for Agility. 

CIOs wear many hats; the newest one being an agent of change. Digital advancements have propelled CIOs to the forefront of organizational change. As a key change agent, CIOs now have the responsibility to promote cultural shifts for successful transformation.  

As more IT organizations adopt agile and design thinking methods to align with overall business goals, CIOs must be able to manage the impact of this change successfully. According to Accenture, the efficacy of technical business transformations relies on strong change management leadership to guide teams through this process.  

 

Why is Change Management So Hard? 

 

70%. This is the percentage of change management initiatives that fail to meet their goal. Change management is hard to get right, and CIOs are forced to face the added challenge of a global pandemic and a remote workforce.  

The main reasons why change management efforts fail at enterprise level are: 

 
 

Often, C-levels prioritize technical capabilities over business capabilities when taking on new spending methodology projects. Majority of resources are utilized on data, tools and insights when it should be focused on the business process adaptations that stem from change management principles.  

Organizations must discard the “There’s an app for that!” philosophy where they become too reliant on packaged software applications to drive internal processes. This philosophy leads to the increasing difficulty of educating and convincing employees to use new technological systems, something CIOs should address urgently.

 

What is Change Fatigue? 

 

As humans, our brains are hardwired to resist change.  

According to Elliot, “I’ve heard senior leaders many times in their career say they are just going to be resisting change or a stakeholder group is just going to resist it.”, and nothing can be done except to move forward to something new. In addition, 92 % of participants in a Deloitte survey stated that resistance to change is an expected reaction from employees as well.  

The rapid pace of continuous change at organizations may take a toll on employees, also known as ”change fatigue”. This is on top of the stress caused by the pandemic and health concerns, economic issues and job uncertainty. If not addressed immediately, change fatigue can be a serious inhibitor of digital transformation. 

CIOs must keep this in mind when planning change management strategies. Change fatigue can result in C-level peers and employees becoming frustrated and resentful — which can get in the way of achieving company goals. 

 

What Makes a Good Change Manager? 

 

Forward-thinking change managers must redefine the concept of change management for their organizations. This is supported by Elliot, who recalls leaders with a traditional mindset having an awakening around the importance of their employees and building a people-centric culture.  

“It is looking at all of the decisions through the lens of ‘how does this impact our employees and teams?’ and ‘how do we talk to them about it?’”  

This shift in mindset will help with creating a simple and effective change management project plan, that should include: 

 
 

Furthermore, a change management project plan should be supported by these strategies: 

  • Assess change readiness of employees to determine overall stress and morale level as well as openness to change, 
  • Understand how the organization and working culture has been impacted by external events, 
  • Acknowledge the importance of aligning people, technology and processes, 
  • Translate overarching goals and objectives into specific transformational strategies, 
  • Ensure all internal stakeholders and executives are aligned and informed. 

With the rise of remote workforces, change management strategies are likely to succeed when CIOs take the time to utilize digital communication tools to connect with teams within the organization and listen to their concerns.  

Besides that, IT leaders can propel their teams to digital transformation with five pillars of change management success:  

 
 

They can tailor existing change management models to their organization’s needs, such as Lewin’s Change Management model, McKinsey 7-S model and Kotter’s theory.  

 

Why is Change Management Important for CIOs to Understand?

 

Valuable time and resources go into adopting new technologies and processes. Without change management, that time and money go to waste.  

According to Elliot, senior leadership needs to understand all the components to change and craft an approach to help spearhead successful change initiatives. CIOs should also note that change management plans are not a one-person job.  

“I look at it as a co-creation model, to be able to include stakeholders that are going to be responsible for delivering the change and include them in the conversation as early as possible.” 

Furthermore, IT leaders who involve employees in designing change management processes are more likely to succeed. Results from a Gartner survey reveal employee engagement and retention rate increased by 38% and 46% respectively with the integration of open source change management.   

A good change manager keeps their employees in mind and closely collaborates with stakeholders when building an impactful change management strategy.

Once seen as an isolated and ongoing project, change management is now reactive and necessary. CIOs must make their mark in the change management landscape and inspire their organization to be excited about change, instead of fearing it. 

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4 Methods To Utilize Clubhouse For Your Business

Since its launch in 2020, Clubhouse has steadily been gaining influence as a viable platform for CXOs to explore. However, businesses are still trying to figure out how exactly they can use the platform as part of their strategy.

During Management Event’s weekly Transformation Thursday, expert speakers and industry leaders share their thoughts on how businesses or brands are exploring ways to use Clubhouse. If you missed out on the session, read on to find out the 4 methods that you use to utilize Clubhouse as part of your business strategy.

 

1. Creating Authentic Business Connections

 

While Clubhouse is currently the hottest social media app, it is still just a social media app and doesn’t necessarily guarantee success for your business goals. However, it can be a valuable tool for creating (or rekindling) business connections that will help as part of your overall marketing funnel.

Given the intimate setting of the app, whereby live conversations are happening, it’s easy for executives or business owners to spontaneously reach out to new connections during or after a session. This spur-of-the-moment connection can lead to possible business opportunities or even act as lead generation, on top of your planned marketing strategies.

One of the points raised during Transformation Thursday was the fact that Clubhouse has the ability to deliver real-time authentic conversations, something that no other social media platform is capable of doing.

 

2. A Direct Platform To Collect Data

 

Data is a powerful tool that companies can utilize to further improve their product/service and strengthen their organizational efficiency. With Clubhouse, you have a powerful platform that allows you to collect real-time data for your business.

Instead of expensive focus groups, you can attract the specific audience that you want into your session and communicate directly with them to get feedback on your products or services. The approach itself can be as organic as setting up a room to chat and just talk with the people in the room on what they think about your company’s products or services.

Companies can use Clubhouse to extract data, entrepreneurs can also use it to collect valuable feedback on business ideas. All you need to do is just set up a room and invite people in your industry to chat with and get instant input to refine your ideas in real-time.

 
Next-level Insights: Gain exclusives insights on industry trends from experts at Management Events’ Clubhouse (@Managementev) sessions.
 

3. Crafting A Tailored Brand Image

 

Cultivating a strong brand image is key to a company’s success in today’s socially aware market, and Clubhouse as a platform allows you to create a tailored brand image where you can control your message.

Compared to other platforms such as email marketing or Instagram where it is a “one-way” communication, Clubhouse allows for “two-way” communication where you can immediately hear feedback from your audiences.

This offers direct access to the audiences that you want to connect and better tell the story of your brand. And with the numerous sessions available in the app, it’s easy to join a room relevant to your business, get on stage and deliver value to build a relationship with the people.

 

4. Building a Community Around Your Business

 

One of the big potentials highlighted during Transformation Thursday is the ability to build an engaged community that will help grow your business sphere of influence. 

For example, Nike can create a room for the running community where users can talk about running equipment and share their thoughts on Nike products. Management Events can create communities that focus on business networking and sharing industry insights.

By creating rooms or topics that are relevant to your product and providing valuable conversations, you can quickly establish yourself as an industry expert. Through those sessions, you will then be able to build a community of potential customers that you can talk to directly.

Despite being around for less than a year, Clubhouse has proven to be quite the popular platform for influencers and executives alike. With the points we’ve outlined, your business will able to take your presence in Clubhouse to the next level.