2. Toolkit for leaders: Skills and capabilities
The heart of the problem in developing new organisational skills and capabilities, is that people default to doing what they already know, especially when what they know has served them well in the past.
Think of the fundraiser who can predict the ROI of a DM campaign but not what a new digital fundraising approach might offer, or the support worker who knows the deep value of the conversation they have with a helpline caller but feels anxious about the idea of co-creating with that same service user, or the leader who sees that organisational silos are a problem but managing ‘their team’ of discipline experts is a comfort zone.
As a Change-ready leader, you recognise the need for transformation yet struggle to shift organisational capabilities to deliver that change. Your own experience of the skills you’re seeking may be limited, having never been explicitly taught them. And you’re operating within a risk-averse governance model where these competencies are also scarce. You may be facing the persistent assumption that approaches effective in a more stable past remain suitable for today's volatile environment. And perhaps underneath is a quiet personal fear about whether you possess sufficient knowledge or confidence to model the changes you wish to see—all while facing the implicit expectation that senior leaders should somehow possess all the answers.
The traditional response to organisational capability development has been to delegate it to HR and L&D teams. This leads too often to a narrow focus on training people in established disciplines, doing traditional ‘management development’, or seeing ‘digital transformation’ skills as being about teaching people to use new tools. As an HR or OD lead you may be asked to help the organisation “develop digital skills” but without more concrete aims or direction, the response usually becomes focused on specific technologies eg moving from old systems to new ones with the belief that new technology will fix ways of working and skills. Upskilling is not learning how to use Teams or a new invoicing system - it's about recruiting and supporting people to learn and adjust with an understanding of human-centred design, product ownership, agile approaches, optimisation skills or data-driven decision making. The messaging around transformation is sometimes discussed in terms of organisational efficiency, which most people read as "redundancies" and will therefore resist.
Capability development for transformation requires both a different kind of skillset and mindset. AND to see those skills modelled by the leaders of the organisation. It cannot be delegated to teams to build from bottom-up, or kept in a separate ‘transformation’ silo.
“Fixed ideas about expertise will give way to adaptive capabilities. So-called soft skills will become the new hard skills over time because of the increasing rapidity of change.
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“Curiosity is more important than the technical skills - though you need those too
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Getting more people around you who have experience of the change you want to see and are curious by nature.
These people will bring colleagues along the journey faster, working confidently across your whole organisation to improve it systematically, with the right tools and approaches.
Change is possible
Leaders often feel pressure to have all the answers, but in a volatile and changing landscape that continually brings fresh challenges, you simply can’t know. The skills required now for modern leaders and their organisations are all about learning to ask the right questions instead.
Our research with leaders who are successfully navigating uncertainty through developing their own and their organisation’s skills and capabilities showed us that you can bring change AND take the pressure off yourself by learning four key concepts from digital-era organisations and by surrounding yourself with people who have experience of the change you want to see.
Building your own leadership capabilities by learning four key concepts from digital-era organisations.
Being data-confident to understand your audience and organisation, and model insight-driven decision making
Supporting human-centred, iterative delivery to focus effort, build adaptability and manage risk
Developing digital fluency and AI literacy to understand how existing and emerging technologies shape power, relationships, and possibilities
Adopting coaching leadership at all levels instead of leading through hierarchy to build a culture of problem solving
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Being data-confident and modeling insight-driven decision making (instead of relying on the wisdom in the room)
Questions to ask: What data do we have that can tell us more about this? What data would we need to be able to do x? and how can we get it? Even though our data isn’t perfect, what does it suggest?
Supporting human-centred and iterative delivery to focus effort, build adaptability and manage risk. This means starting small and iterating, reflective learning and regular testing with audiences. Get comfortable with the language of design thinking, sprints, retrospectives, pivots and MVPs
Questions to use: What’s the smallest version of this we could create in order to test out our thinking with our audiences? How can we break this work into manageable chunks or phases? What can we learn from how things are going (both going well and not)?
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Supporting human-centred and iterative delivery to focus effort, build adaptability and manage risk. This means starting small and iterating, reflective learning and regular testing with audiences. Get comfortable with the language of design thinking, sprints, retrospectives, pivots and MVPs
Questions to use: What’s the smallest version of this we could create in order to test out our thinking with our audiences? How can we break this work into manageable chunks or phases? What can we learn from how things are going (both going well and not)?
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To understand how existing and emerging technologies shape power, relationships, and possibilities. This isn't about knowing how to use tools, but grasping how societal technology adoption changes audience expectations, how modern tools and approaches can create new forms of value, and understanding the risks inherent in a rapidly changing AI landscape.
Questions to ask: What business problems can technologies like AI help us solve, and how would these be better than our current approach? Is our data structured and accessible in a way that supports all areas of our work? How do we balance adoption with governance and responsible use?
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Adopting coaching leadership approach at all levels instead of leading through hierarchy to build a culture of problem solving
Questions to ask: Who are my experts who I can support and champion? How am I supporting my team to solve their own problems and influence upwards? How can I better include my teams in decision-making?
Tips to do right now
In our discussions with leaders who have successfully guided their organisations through change, we've gathered practical advice that can help you take those crucial first steps:
“Think BIG, then start small. Go where the energy is.”
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Do you have the right mix of skills and mindsets at the top? Consider how your leadership team structure and capabilities might need to evolve, based on your biggest gaps or unmet needs.
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Make sure everyone is recruiting for growth mindset and adaptability. This will change your organisation more rapidly than almost anything else.
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Invest in developing culture and behaviour, skills needed for change as well as getting everyone on the same page on how your organisation approaches transformation. <insert link to leadership dev coaching offer from us or thing like the unthinkable
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Fund a strategic but contained initiative where you can test and learn from new ways of working with limited risk.
Resources
How to Measure Progress
Measuring the impact of capability development helps maintain momentum and secure continued support. Here are practical ways to track your progress:
People Indicators
Regular staff surveys provide valuable insights into how capability development is progressing:
Psychological safety - Are staff comfortable speaking up, asking questions, and challenging assumptions?
Role clarity - Do team members understand how they contribute to the bigger picture?
Voice and agency - Do staff feel heard and able to influence their work environment?
Consider using pulse surveys between larger surveys to catch issues early and celebrate quick wins.
Performance Indicators
Monitor how new capabilities affect operational performance:
Delivery speed - Save the Children saw projects completed in 6 weeks that previously took 3-4 months, thanks to cross-functional autonomous teams
Quality improvements - Track reductions in errors, rework, or customer/supporter satisfaction
Resource efficiency - Measure whether you're delivering more value with the same or fewer resources
Maturity Assessment
Use established frameworks to benchmark your progress:
Digital maturity - Tools like the Digital Maturity Assessment (www.digitalmaturity.org) help assess capabilities across key dimensions
Focus on specific competencies - Measure progress in areas like Capacity, Learning, Recruitment, and Project Management
Set measurable targets - Establish a baseline, define 12-month goals, and create a prioritised roadmap for achieving those goals
Early Signs of Success
Watch for these positive signals:
Cross-functional collaboration - Teams working across traditional silos without management intervention
Experimentation mindset - Teams trying new approaches and learning from both successes and failures
User-centred language - Staff naturally discussing impact on users rather than just internal processes
Data-driven decisions - Teams come to meetings with data and insights and use them in planning and decision making
Reporting principles
Share results transparently across the organisation
Celebrate improvements while honestly addressing challenges
Use insights to refine your approach, not just to validate it
Remember that meaningful change takes time - look for trends, not just point-in-time snapshots
“10 years ago you needed ‘digital’ people - and lots of organisations have developed good products and engagement by doing that. Now you need the curious people who can help you test and learn your way into the future despite all the uncertainty.
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Case studies
Collective thoughts on… Skills and capabilities
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