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Digital transformation involves change, which includes change in how people think, and this change starts by changing hearts and minds.

According Paul A. O’Keefe, Carol Dweck and Greg Walton, people tend to gravitate to one of two mindsets — a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

Fixed mindset people spend their time being excellent, proving how good they are and seeking to be right. Growth mindset people focus on learning, keeping an open mind toward new information and are less concerned with being good and more concerned with getting better. To succeed, CIOs need to be aware of where the fixed versus growth mindsets exist, and it may not be the same for every proposed change. The struggle for CIOs leading transformation initiatives is working with, those with a fixed mindset, because they feel the biggest fear of change. According to Mevotech CIO Martin Davis, “Fear of change is a big problem. People may like the idea of change, but not like being changed. People tend to have a fear of losing something as the result of a change — status, position, knowledge and even coffee with friends. Another obstacle is making sure the business is thinking about change as business change and not just technology change.”

CIOs suggest that after convincing top leadership, changing hearts and minds can involve asking people to give up control, because “things that once made organizations successful can get in the way of the future” (Gary Hamel). Smart CIOs know that effective change agents come in all stripes. Sometimes change agents are outside experts or internal thought leaders, other times they can be the CEO, a key board members, or top customers. To succeed, CIOs need to meet regularly with their peers, host company-wide town halls, and encourage subsequent team meetings. CIOs need to encourage employees to be open to change. It is important to pursue multiple settings for reaching people, because often they need to hear things more than once before it sinks in.

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You can read more about how CIOs can change Fixed Organizational Mindsets for Digital Transformation here.

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