Executive summary: rethinking digital leadership
In a business environment driven by digital transformation and characterized by distributed teams and accelerated delivery cycles, the traditional hierarchy-based leadership model is showing signs of obsolescence. This article, inspired by the conversation with Mónica Maltzman in episode 90 of our podcast Digital Experience by Soho (in Spanish), explores the need for digital leadership that prioritizes aligning the vision through co-creation, encourages genuine collaboration rather than mere coordination, and is built on influence and empathy rather than formal authority.
Effective digital leadership means empowering teams by providing context, tools and support, as well as the ability to lead through uncertainty, acting as a source of stability in environments of constant change.
We propose actionable keys for transforming digital leadership, including redefining success in team terms, practicing active listening, establishing cultural rituals, showing vulnerability and encouraging experimentation.
The leadership the digital age needs is one that expands conversations, empowers people and facilitates the collective building of solutions, putting conscious connection ahead of the figure of the all-knowing expert. The transformation starts with the leader, with a positive impact on both products and people.
The crisis of traditional leadership in the digital age
The obsolescence of hierarchy-based leadership
For decades, hierarchical authority worked as a mechanism for coordination and control. The leader defined the vision and made decisions, and the team executed. This model, efficient in stable, predictable contexts, has fallen out of step with the challenges of the digital age.
New generations value autonomy, transparency and meaning in their work. According to Gallup’s “How Millennials Want to Work and Live” report, more than 70% of millennials consider it essential that their employers promote professional development and values-based leadership that create purpose and well-being at work.
In this scenario, respect and trust aren’t granted by job title; they’re earned through consistency, the ability to listen and the creation of spaces for inclusion and participation.
“Respect isn’t imposed, it’s built.”
— Mónica Maltzman
Aligning the vision and co-creation as pillars of digital leadership
One of the main sources of friction in digital teams is a lack of alignment on purpose and goals. Put simply: not everyone understands where they’re headed or why they do what they do. This dissonance hurts motivation, creates rework and weakens decision-making.
Mónica proposes a concrete approach: the leader takes the time to build and validate the vision with the team. This isn’t about giving an inspiring presentation, but about creating a real space for dialogue where everyone can understand and contribute to the “what for” of the work.
The World Economic Forum, in its Future of Jobs Report 2023, stressed that one of the most sought-after digital leadership skills for 2025 would be the “ability to create a clear, shared narrative of change.” Aligning the vision is exactly that: building shared meaning so everyone acts in the same direction.
Encouraging collaboration and co-creation in innovative digital teams
The linear, “waterfall” way of working (where one person thinks, another designs and another executes) is no longer viable for solving complex problems. The teams that innovate are the ones that collaborate from the start: different roles and perspectives come together to build integrated solutions.
Here Mónica introduces a powerful distinction: moving from hand-off (I do my part and pass it to you) to hands-on (we work together from the start). This approach requires new dynamics, such as collaborative design, shared discovery sessions and cross-functional squads.
Harvard Business Review confirms it: organizations with collaborative cultures are 5x more likely to be considered “highly innovative.” Collaborating isn’t a fad. It’s a condition for competitive survival.
Leadership through influence: building authority without hierarchy in digital environments
In digital contexts, where structures are flatter and teams follow project logic, leadership is built more through influence than through hierarchy. That means developing authority based on trust, consistency and the ability to connect people and visions.
Mónica sums it up with a brilliant analogy: the leader as an API. A human interface that connects different worlds, translates languages and makes it easier for information and knowledge to flow.
This kind of leadership requires three key competencies:
- Operational empathy: understanding what each team member needs and how they’re experiencing the process.
- Communicating with intent: adapting the message to the audience, ensuring understanding and meaning.
- Nurturing team culture: creating spaces for feedback, recognition and shared learning.
Structure and support for effective team empowerment
One of the most used (and misunderstood) terms in leadership is empowerment. It isn’t about offloading responsibilities, but about creating the conditions for people to take them on consciously and safely.
Empowering means:
- Providing the context needed to understand the impact of the role.
- Providing the tools and knowledge to act.
- Supporting the path to autonomy, respecting each person’s pace.
Mónica suggests thinking of this transition as a process in stages, from “I do it and you watch” to “you do it and I back you up.” In between, there’s learning, trial and error, trust and support.
Read also: The future of work: how AI and human talent are reinventing digital teams
Leading through uncertainty: strategies for managing digital change
One of the biggest challenges of digital leadership is managing uncertainty. Changes of direction, contradictory requirements and the constant arrival of new technologies create anxiety in teams.
In this context, the leader’s role is to hold the team steady. It isn’t about having all the answers, but about sustaining the process of change, naming what’s happening, validating the team’s emotions and keeping the shared vision alive.
McKinsey studies indicate that teams that see their leader as resilient and communicative show 47% more engagement in digital transformation contexts. Support isn’t a soft value: it’s a retention and productivity strategy.
Actionable keys to transform your leadership
- Redefine success as a team: Stop rewarding individual productivity and start measuring the value created collectively.
- Practice active listening: It’s not about hearing, but about understanding and adapting your style to what the team needs.
- Establish cultural rituals: From dailies to retrospectives, build moments that strengthen culture and trust.
- Show vulnerability: Leading also means saying “I don’t know,” “I need help,” “I was wrong.”
- Encourage experimentation: Digital leadership is built by trying, iterating and learning.
Conclusion: digital leadership focused on transforming products and people
Leading in digital environments isn’t about escalating decisions, but about expanding conversations. It isn’t about controlling, but about empowering. It isn’t about having all the answers, but about helping the team build them.
The digital leadership we need isn’t that of the “all-knowing expert,” but that of the “conscious connector.” The one who creates shared meaning, mobilizes by example and builds cultures where innovation emerges as a natural consequence of collaboration.
If you lead products, teams or startups, the transformation starts with you.
About Mónica
Mónica Maltzman is a coach, a digital product development specialist and a trainer of leaders. Her experience combines more than 15 years leading tech teams with a deeply human perspective. Find out more at yourcoachforgrowth.com
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Credits
As Director of Strategy and Innovation at Soho, he leads and oversees initiatives that drive growth and market differentiation. With more than 10 years of experience in the field, Martin has developed a strategic vision and a practical approach to delivering innovative, user-centered solutions that meet the needs and expectations of diverse audiences and markets.
