think big

Dream big

This week, we had the privilege of getting Up-Close with Anca Iordanescu, the Vice President of Engineering, Stores of the Future IKEA, who also happens to be the winner of last year's Digital Masters Award for Excellence in Digital Transformation.

What is your career highlight to date? How has this influenced you as a leader?

Winning the Excellence in Digital Transformation DMA has been a highlight – this prize and recognition has really given me the fuel and energy to do more, particularly being a woman in tech. More broadly, a huge highlight for me has been building great tech which genuinely changes people’s lives.

“All opinions matter”

How have you approached digital transformation?

I have always been focused on driving cultural change first, this is the biggest and toughest part. You need to move an environment from a control culture to allow people to be dynamic, disruptive and learn constantly. You need to encourage a spirit of learning to fail cheap and course correct fast, allowing teams to dream big and think big. A truly successful digital transformation is one that changes people’s mindsets to innovation being a default, rather than purely an integral part of their jobs.

In your opinion, what are the top three attributes of a great digital leader?

Bravery

Curiosity

Being humble

How do you create a high-performance culture? Any examples you have put in place that have been effective?

High-performance culture is created through building high trust environments, encouraging collaboration and having diverse teams. All opinions matter and a leader should embrace ideas and listen to their teams – the more ideas that are included, the more people will learn. It is essential that there is a clear vision on how to take the team forward and ensure that they are onboard with that journey. A non-hierarchical mentality is also essential – this encourages people to challenge and this openness allows the team to move forward, backing each other when needed.

What have been the most important leadership lessons you have learnt over the past year?

Be perseverant and resilient. The transformation that I’ve been driving this year has been tough, expectations are high – it is important to never give up as a leader and develop the power to rebuild when you fail, taking a step back and then starting again. I have also learnt that it is sometimes essential to be outspoken. It is vital that you’re doing a role that gives you passion and energy.

“Be perseverant and resilient”

Do you think the role of a technology leader has changed during your career?

Yes, it has changed; the shift of companies transitioning into software companies has meant that the role has become more important and visible. It has changed from looking into the depth of tech to driving the business. Most businesses are now tech-focused and if they aren’t yet, then they are certainly moving in this direction.

“A truly successful digital transformation is one that changes people’s mindsets”

In your opinion, why does diversity matter?

The only way to generate new ideas is by having diverse teams. Having a diverse mindset across a business enables the environment to embrace change and different opinions. Diversity ensures that there is an openness to learn new things from other people.

What do you think product and tech leaders can put in place to solve the challenge of limited diversity across leadership teams?

The problem stems from the base level of engineering. Currently, there isn’t a great funnel to attract different brains into technology – this can be changed through mentoring, influencing and inspiring the younger generations. At the middle management layer things are changing for the better, however, the higher you go, the less diversity you find. The leadership layers are harder to change. It requires people in those positions to acknowledge the problem and actively work to solve it. Quotas are not enough to increase diversity - companies need to drive other initiatives, whether that be encouraging remote working or driving open discussions as a leadership team.

“The only way to generate new ideas is by having diverse teams”

I like how Jan Bosch talks about digital transformation in his book , ‘Digital Transformation: A Holistic Perspective for Business Leaders’. I like his focus on architecture. I also enjoy the ‘How to be Awesome at Your Job’ podcast – I think this is well thought through and I like the focus on exec communication.