Why curiosity, diversity and inclusion are the secrets to successful business transformation

What’s the secret to a successful digital transformation? If you know my background as a tech leader, you’d probably expect me to answer that question by saying “technology,” or possibly more specifically, “analytics and artificial intelligence.” 

So maybe I will surprise you when I explain that, in my view, successful digital transformation fundamentally requires three things: curiosity, diversity and an inclusive organizational culture.

Why curiosity? For me, it’s simple. To be a leader in a context of superfluid markets, where everything is connected, an organization needs to constantly explore which are the new “needs,“ which technologies exist, how they can be maximized and where they can be used to innovate boldly to create new experiences, goods and services. Curiosity also underpins learning, which is the foundation of both personal and organizational progress. That’s why I say to my teams worldwide: “Learn as if you were to live forever and live as if you were to die tomorrow.”  

Exploration requires a mindset of curiosity. Fundamentally, then, no organization can expect to achieve market leadership in this Transformative Age if its people are not curious.

Curiosity and diversity are inextricably linked, since curiosity is naturally stirred within environments where myriad conversations take place. Where I am based, at the EY wavespace? innovation center in Madrid, we have people from 33 countries all having conversations with each other; all on the same team. That has not come about through chance, by the way -- it has come about through design, because I am absolutely passionate about building diverse teams.

My teams worldwide focus on helping our clients to use analytics and artificial intelligence to build better businesses. To do that, we need to ask different questions, find different answers to old and new problems, and gain different perspectives on the opportunities and challenges that exist. As a result, we need to listen to the viewpoint of many different people so that we can understand multiple points of view.

Diversity also nourishes fresh thinking. It also allows us to better scan the horizon for new trends and new threats. We can’t solve new problems – problems that we’ve never faced before – if we continue to think in the same old ways. Although none of us can predict the future, the more we listen to others and gain a diverse range of perspectives, the better we will be at anticipating what is coming. That might be a sweeping change in customer behavior or having to compete with new competitors that don’t even exist in our sector today.

Of course, diversity is not an end in itself – it is a means to an end, with that end being a healthy, thriving organization that is set up to flourish in the digital world. What’s more, the real power of diversity can only be realized in an open, inclusive environment where people are encouraged to ask questions, exchange views and achieve professional recognition for their knowledge and expertise. I played an instrumental role in creating the EY Badges program, which publicly recognizes EY professionals who learn new skills in emerging technologies, because I want to encourage our people to stay curious and to give them a vehicle through which they can contribute to our global EY network while gaining personal achievements. I also consider the EY Badges program as key to building teams that are based on true meritocracy.

Leaders set the tone in any organization, which is why they have a responsibility to empower the creation of unique, diverse and inclusive cultures. At the same time, though, everyone else in the team also has a significant contribution to make in this respect. In my work environment, for example, people know what to expect from me, and they know what I expect from them. We have an unwritten contract between us. I also think it’s essential when working with diverse teams to put expectations and values into words, in the form of clear signposts around the workplace, where words become deeds. This approach has the effect of translating the nebulous and theoretical concept of “culture” into something concrete, real and specific.

As leaders, we also need to make sure that we are looking at our people from their point of view as much as possible, listening to them and making them feel that they are paramount. Often, it’s the little things that make the most significant difference – saying hello when you come into the office in the morning or stopping to talk to someone for a couple of minutes during the day. The new generation of people coming into the workplace does not want their leaders to be inaccessible and remote – they want them to stay close and be genuine and personal. So accessible leadership is key to establishing an inclusive organizational culture for now and into the future.

We know that “digital transformation” is one of the biggest focuses of our era. It cannot happen through technology alone. Ultimately, it is up to people to bring about transformation by using technology in a brave, creative, ethical and surprising fashion. The times we live in demand that we build a new culture that is based on curiosity, diversity, and inclusiveness. If we are to succeed in the Transformative Age, this is the only way forward. 

What’s possible in the Transformative Age? Join EY to discuss this and all the pressing economic and social issues as we look to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2019 – from 22-25 January. Join the debate via ey.com/wef and using #WEF19 and #BetterWorkingWorld.