In Conversation: The Role of Leadership in the Digital Age

As organizations continue to embrace digital transformation, the role of a leader is changing. In the past, leadership was about giving orders and making decisions. However, in the digital age, leaders must possess a combination of technical expertise, strategic vision, and interpersonal skills to thrive in this environment.  

To further explore the intersection of leadership and evolving technology, we spoke to Sarvesh Ahluwalia, Co-founder/Partner of Smarphics Solutions (an independent agency focusing on creative and digital solutions for B2B & B2C customers). With several years of experience in B2B marketing, business development, project management and revenue generation spanning across geographies like India, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Europe, Mr. Ahluwalia comes with great knowledge and insights.

In our recent interview, Mr. Ahluwalia sheds light on how he adapts and embraces change as a leader in the evolving business landscape. The insights gleaned from this interview session reveal his leadership strategies in the booming digital age.

How do you keep on top of industry news and digital trends?

Ahluwalia: Staying abreast of industry news and digital trends is paramount for maintaining a competitive edge, particularly when leveraging AI in your day-to-day activities. To stay on top of industry news and digital trends, Iactively engage in Social Listening by following key publications, blogs, influencers and podcasts on social media platforms.

Moreover, I focus on my skill development – through online courses, attending virtual or in-person conferences, by attending knowledge-sharing sessions, networking, and discussing emerging trends.

Have you used AI automation tools in any recent projects? How was that experience?

Ahluwalia: Absolutely, we have used AI automation tools extensively in our Graphic Designing projects and the experience has been enriching and transformative. Here’s a breakdown of our experience in terms of the benefits and challenges faced.

Benefits:

• AI tools have enhanced efficiency by streamlining a substantial portion of our presentation creation and automating repetitive tasks like image editing, background removal, and vectorization, which helps our designers focus on more strategic and creative aspects of their work.

• AI-powered tools have boosted creativity by opening new avenues for creative exploration, which helps generate unique visual concepts, experiment with different styles, and quickly iterate on ideas.

• AI-driven tools help us maintain consistency and quality across various projects. Features like automatic color correction, font pairing suggestions, and layout optimization ensure pixel-perfect designs.

• By automating certain tasks, we have been able to deliver designs and projects more quickly.

Challenges:

• While AI can automate many tasks, human creativity, and intuition remains essential for crafting exceptional designs.
• Ensuring the quality of AI-generated outputs requires careful oversight and often involves human intervention to refine and polish the results.
• While AI tools are powerful, designers still need to adapt their skills to effectively use them. It requires learning new techniques and understanding the limitations of AI.
• As AI becomes more sophisticated, it raises ethical questions about copyright, intellectual property, and the potential for bias in AI-generated content.

Can you describe a digital project that faced unexpected challenges? How did you ensure success?

Ahluwalia: Our Meta (Facebook + Instagram) campaign aimed to build brand awareness for a ‘premium whiskey brand in India definitely faced challenges. Meta’s strict policies and India’s advertising rules meant adhering to age restriction requirements for each state. Automated Meta reviews often flagged ads despite guideline compliance, delaying the campaign. Influencers backing out – citing issues that promotion of alcohol might flag or lock their account.

To deal with challenges, we started lifestyle-focused storytelling by creating brand-aligned content emphasizing heritage, knowledge, and experiences. We performed rigorous compliance checks for pre-approval and rapid ad adjustments, curated influencer posts that are not overtly promotional, such as musical videos that align with guidelines. We also ensured the target age group covered was a subset of TG and state government guidelines and creating state-specific campaigns accordingly. The national-level campaign ensured the target age group considered the maximum permissible age.

The campaign achieved high engagement by resonating authentically with our audience, successfully promoting brand identity within regulatory limits.

How do you foster innovation on your team?

Ahluwalia: Fostering innovation within my team is a key priority, and we do so by creating an environment that encourages creativity, risk-taking, and continuous learning. Here’s our approach:

• We ensure that our designers, developers, strategists, and content creators regularly collaborate. This cross-pollination of ideas from different perspectives often leads to fresh, innovative solutions.

• We promote an attitude where failure is seen as a learning opportunity. Team members are encouraged to experiment with new technologies, design concepts, or marketing approaches without fear of repercussions if things don’t go as planned.

• We encourage continuous learning, whether through online courses, workshops, or certifications in AI, design tools, and digital marketing. This keeps the team updated on the latest industry trends and technologies, empowering them to apply cutting-edge knowledge to projects.

• We celebrate innovative ideas, whether they are successful or not. Public recognition of team members’ creativity helps boost morale and encourages more out-of-the-box thinking.

How do you envision the future with digitalization growing at such a rapid scale?

Ahluwalia: Digitalization growth at such a rapid scale is both exciting and transformative, with profound impacts across industries, businesses, and daily life. Here’s how I envision key areas shaping the future:

• AI-driven hyper-personalized experiences: From tailored product recommendations to customized digital content, businesses will use advanced machine learning algorithms to create deeper connections with consumers, predicting their needs before they even realize them.

• Automation of repetitive tasks: This will free up human resources for more creative and strategic work.

• Augmented and virtual reality advancements: We will see a seamless blending of digital and physical worlds. From virtual shopping experiences to immersive learning environments, these technologies will transform how we interact with brands, products, learning, and information.

• Sustainability in digitalization: The Internet of Things (IoT) will allow for smarter resource management which will support sustainability through applications resulting in reduced energy consumptions, reduced congestion and pollutions to name a few.

• Rise of low-code and no-code platforms: These platforms will enable people without technical expertise to build applications, websites, and digital solutions.

We can see that COVID-19 has not only accelerated our transition to the digital age, but has fundamentally changed our relationship with businesses and technology. We are more reliant than ever on digital tech.  And if you’re not adapting your business to digitalization you’ll likely see the impact of refusing to do so – because the digital age is here to stay.

What do you fear most about digital technology? How can industry leaders prepare for the future digital world?

Ahluwalia: The most significant concerns I have about digital technology are data security, privacy breaches, over-reliance on automation, cyber-attacks, and ethical implications of AI.

While digital advancements have provided immense opportunities, these issues can pose serious threats to businesses. Fortunately, since inception, we have not faced any major set backs on the digital technology front. Embrace digital transformation – it is inevitable.

Conduct regular security assessments to identify vulnerabilities and threats. Invest in robust cybersecurity measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and employee training. Adhere to data privacy regulations and protect customer data from unauthorized access or breaches.

Form partnerships with startups, tech companies, and research institutions to gain access to cutting-edge innovations in AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and more. Engage in building or joining digital ecosystems where multiple stakeholders (partners, customers, suppliers) collaborate and create shared value through interconnected digital platforms

Invest in training and development programs to equip employees with the skills needed to thrive in a digital world. Recruit and retain digital talent with expertise in areas like data science, cybersecurity, and AI. Partner with universities and research institutions to foster innovation and develop a pipeline of digital talent.

In brief

In the digital age, leadership development is no longer a linear path but a dynamic journey of continuous learning and adaptation. The call to action is clear: to thrive in the digital age, leaders must evolve, embrace digital development, and inspire their teams to do the same.