Data Conversations Over Coffee with Paul Morley
Nedbank Executive, Group Data Services Paul Morley shares his tips for leading a successful digital transformation
Under Paul Morley’s leadership, South African financial services group Nedbank has totally overhauled the way it uses data and analytics over the past nine years.
As the bank’s Executive, Group Data Services, he knows that successfully steering business transformations is about creating a dialogue with the business and bringing key stakeholders along on the journey. So in this episode of Data Conversations Over Coffee, he outlines his ‘top tips’ for leading this kind of digital transformation.
“You’ve got to make the people on your team comfortable that, in this wold of change and ambiguity, you’re with them,” he says. “The only way that happens is if you talk and communicate.”
“You must show them your commitment,” he adds. “[It’s] inspiring to see the leadership with the people on the front line. But there are a lot of transformation programs that don’t do that.”
“The last thing you should do in any transformation is force a directive or a decision, because then it’s going to fail,” he concludes. “The most important thing to do in any transformation is, you need a discussion.”
Key Takeaways
- Start by creating a dialogue – communicate your digital transformation plans and take feedback on board to secure buy-in for transformation projects
- Leadership comes from the top – ensure company executives are actively involved in the transformation and leading by example to drive it forward
- Never stop communicating – much like you'd train an ML model, maintaining enthusiasm for digital transformation is about feeding people useful information on an ongoing basis
