Gartner suggests that digital leaders need to be neophiliacs because:
- Assumptions about conventional leadership thinking need to be radically changed to manage multiple volatile and uncertain situations.
- Forward-looking expertise is a critical leadership element to enhance adaptability and enable capabilities that drive business value.
- To build the capability to scan, anticipate and act ahead, incorporate neophilia into your leadership style.
- A neophiliac approach simulates executive leaders to overcome creative barriers and improve innovative thinking.
Digital leaders must be sensitive to new things to survive today’s dynamic world, disrupted by technological change. Inflexible customs and habits can stymie both your efforts to lead through the disruption and create a pro-innovation culture. The high risk of getting trapped into familiarity makes it indispensable for leaders to outgrow existing thoughts. Traditional thinking may work well when you are dealing with situations that are routine and standard. However, it is critical to try and find new ways of looking at the situation when the old ways don’t work or when confronted with uncertainty. PlayStation was inspired by an idea of a Sony employee who worked on his child’s Nintendo to make it more powerful and user-friendly.1 To survive in an environment of constant stimulation and rapid change, novelty-seeking is essential.
From: Gartner https://www.gartner.com/document/code/754146?ref=authbody