Leadership in the digital age involves influencing others, building trust, and using data and artificial intelligence to mobilize people, drive transformation, and achieve sustainable results.
What is influence-based leadership, and why is it key in organizations?
Influence-based leadership involves mobilizing people, aligning interests, and building trust to achieve common goals, even when there is no direct hierarchical relationship. This approach is particularly relevant in complex organizations, where strategic projects involve different departments and multiple stakeholders.
In large organizations, hierarchy is essential for ensuring clarity in responsibilities, strategic alignment, and team development. However, the success of cross-functional projects depends on something that goes beyond the formal structure.
One of the main challenges is preventing processes and hierarchical levels from becoming barriers to cross-departmental collaboration. In this context, influence, building trust, and aligning different stakeholders around a common goal are decisive factors for success.
In my experience leading strategic initiatives, the best results emerge when there is support from leaders and a shared vision, transforming complex challenges into value delivery for the business.
How can we drive the adoption of digital products among small and medium-sized enterprises?
The adoption of digital products is the process by which a company incorporates technological solutions into its day-to-day operations to improve aspects such as productivity, efficiency, or competitiveness. Driving this adoption requires knowledge, guidance, and a value proposition that addresses specific business needs.
The adoption of digital products in the SMB segment, through indirect channels, faces two main challenges.
The first is to expand customers’ knowledge of these solutions and demonstrate, in practice, how they can help increase the productivity and competitiveness of their businesses. Unlike mobile and fiber services—which are already part of companies’ daily routines and are strongly associated with the Vivo brand—digital products require efforts to raise awareness about the breadth of our portfolio.
The second challenge is to engage business owners and consultants from our business partners in the opportunity these solutions represent. More than just a new offering, it is about responding to a growing demand from SME customers for digitization and efficiency.
To achieve this, it is essential to combine training, sales strategy, incentives, and ongoing support, creating an environment that fosters the adoption and sustainable growth of these solutions.
What benefits can the adoption of digital products bring to SMEs?
Based on the points raised in the interview, the adoption of digital products can contribute to:
- Increasing productivity.
- Improving competitiveness.
- Meeting the demand for digitalization.
- Promote greater business efficiency.
- Expand knowledge about available solutions.
- Drive sustainable growth.
- Generate new business opportunities.
How do data and artificial intelligence help improve business decisions?
Artificial intelligence and data analytics make it possible to turn available information into practical recommendations. In the business world, they can help validate hypotheses, identify opportunities, and prioritize actions.
Strategic decisions are increasingly data-driven. Although intuition and business experience remain important, data plays a fundamental role in validating hypotheses, identifying opportunities, and guiding actions with greater precision.
In the context of our business partners, there is a wealth of information available about their customers, in addition to recommendations generated by predictive models. The challenge lies in transforming that data into practical business strategies.
This is precisely where we come in, structuring a model that organizes the sales approach.
When salespeople begin working with more qualified opportunities, confidence in the strategy naturally increases. They realize they are presenting proposals that are better aligned with customer needs.
In this process, data analysis and artificial intelligence cease to be merely supportive tools and become fundamental elements for generating results, strengthening decision-making, and building trust among teams, business partners, and leaders.
What roles do artificial intelligence and data play in sales management?
Based on the experience described, these technologies help to:
- Validate business hypotheses.
- Identify sales opportunities.
- Organize the sales approach.
- Target actions with greater precision.
- Transform data into practical sales strategies.
- Strengthen decision-making.
- Build trust among teams, business partners, and leaders.
What role does trust play in decisions supported by artificial intelligence?
Trust increases when teams see that data enables them to work with better-qualified opportunities and structure their sales activities more effectively. Artificial intelligence thus acts as a support to guide decisions, while experience and business acumen remain relevant.
The goal is not to replace professional judgment, but to combine available information, analytical capabilities, and team knowledge to make more precise decisions.
What skills are essential for leading cross-functional projects in complex organizations?
To lead cross-functional projects, I believe the key trait is accountability. Regardless of the areas involved or the challenges that arise during execution, the project leader must take primary responsibility for ensuring the initiatives move forward and that established objectives are met.
For this to happen, it is essential to develop the ability to influence people and rally different departments around a common priority. In complex organizational structures, results often depend more on collaboration and alignment among stakeholders than on formal authority.
In my experience, the most successful projects are those that combine strategic vision, effective stakeholder management, the building of trusting relationships, and the ability to demonstrate the initiative’s value to everyone involved.
This ability to generate commitment and align priorities is what transforms shared challenges into concrete business results.
What are the key competencies for leading strategic projects?
The skills highlighted in the interview are:
- Accountability for the project’s progress.
- Ability to influence.
- Strategic vision.
- Stakeholder management.
- Building trusting relationships.
- Mobilizing different departments.
- Aligning priorities.
- Ability to demonstrate the value of an initiative.
- Focus on achieving objectives.
- Generating commitment.
How will leadership evolve in an increasingly digitized environment?
Looking ahead, I believe leadership will need to evolve to keep pace with both digital transformation and the new generations entering the workforce. These are professionals with different expectations, values, and ways of working, which will require leaders to be more adaptable in order to maintain committed, high-performing teams.
At the same time, artificial intelligence will continue to gain ground in organizations, automating operational activities and supporting decision-making.
In this context, the major challenge for leaders will be to balance technology and people management, using innovation to increase productivity without losing focus on talent development.
What challenges will next-generation leaders face?
The main challenges identified are:
- Supporting digital transformation.
- Adapting to new expectations and ways of working.
- Maintaining committed, high-performing teams.
- Integrating artificial intelligence into organizations.
- Leveraging the automation of operational activities.
- Using technology to support decision-making.
- Increasing productivity without losing focus on people.
- Balancing innovation and talent development.
Why will trust continue to be the foundation of digital leadership?
The insights shared in this interview show that effective leadership does not depend solely on formal authority. In complex, digitized environments, influence, the ability to build trust, and alignment among different stakeholders are crucial for driving innovation, accelerating digital transformation, and achieving sustainable results.
This vision aligns with the goal of moving toward a more innovative and competitive Telefónica and offering more and better services to customers. In this context, the statement that “the quality of our services will be measured by our customers’ trust” takes on special significance.
Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Leadership, Influence, and Artificial Intelligence
What is digital leadership?
Digital leadership is the ability to mobilize people, drive transformation, and achieve objectives in environments shaped by technology, data, and new ways of working. It requires a combination of strategic vision, influence, adaptability, and people management.
Is it possible to lead without hierarchical authority?
Yes. In cross-functional projects, leadership can be exercised through influence, building trust, aligning stakeholders, and mobilizing different departments around a common goal.
What does accountability mean in project leadership?
Accountability refers to the responsibility for ensuring the progress of an initiative and the achievement of its objectives, regardless of the departments involved or the challenges that arise during execution.
How can the adoption of digital products be driven?
Adoption can be encouraged by combining training, business strategy, incentives, and ongoing support. It is also necessary to explain in practical terms how digital solutions can improve productivity and competitiveness.
How is artificial intelligence used in business decisions?
Artificial intelligence can help identify opportunities, develop business strategies, and strengthen decision-making by analyzing available information.
Does artificial intelligence replace business expertise?
No. Business insight and experience remain important. Data and artificial intelligence provide additional information to validate hypotheses and guide actions more accurately.
What skills does a cross-functional project leader need?
Key skills include accountability, influence, strategic vision, stakeholder management, building trust, and the ability to mobilize departments and align priorities.
What will be the main leadership challenge in the future?
One of the major challenges will be balancing technology and people management, using innovation and artificial intelligence to increase productivity without losing focus on talent development.
