DIGITAL LEADERSHIP: COMPETENCIES AND CHARACTER DIMENSIONS FOR PUBLIC-SECTOR IT LEADERS

Abstract

Digitalization has changed the leadership paradigm for public-sector information technology (IT) leaders, requiring them to shift from being back-office managers to becoming effective C-suite strategic leaders. As the Ontario Government addresses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, IT capabilities are key levers to improve service effectiveness and to maximize value for money. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to investigate the leadership competencies and character dimensions that improve the effectiveness of public-sector IT leaders in today’s digital environment. The competencies are the ability to Anticipate environmental changes, the willingness to Challenge status quo, the ability Decide on investment strategies, the ability to Align with stakeholder values and the willingness to build a Learning culture. The character dimensions are Judgement, Accountability and Collaboration. Using a combination of strategic leadership and character dimension questions, a survey of 2,554 IT staff was completed from January to March of 2021. An exclusive data collection strategy using convenient and random sampling was used and 475 usable surveys were obtained. CFA and PLS-SEM were used for data analysis, and it was found that only the independent variables Decide, Align, Collaboration, Accountability and Judgement have significant impact on the dependent variable Effective Leadership in a digital environment. No statistical evidence was found to suggest that Anticipate, Challenge and Learn significantly impacted Effective Leadership. Additionality, the results suggest that during times of emergency management, character dimensions are more valued than leadership competencies for effective IT leadership. The findings have practical implications to support the recruitment and development of public-sector IT leaders through more deliberate emphasis on character dimensions and context-based emphasis on competences. The study is therefore a contribution to the body of knowledge on the integration of leadership competencies and character dimensions for effective IT leadership in a digital environment. Keywords: leadership, character dimensions, competence, digitalization