In an interview with Which-50, Monsees described how leadership requires an overhaul just as surely as business processes and software.
Business transformation requires leadership teams to willingly foster environments where teams can experiment, grow and innovate, providing new solutions to today’s needs, he argued.
His answer suggested that he has learned the same lesson of other leaders driving reform: not every one of the senior leadership team is best placed to drive change.
These lessons were learned not just during his time recalibrating the ANZ operations of WPP — a media and marketing giant and increasingly a technology transformation business as well — but also from his time working for companies like BMW, where he led the electric vehicle initiative.
The talent pool, the can-do approach, the ideas, the creativity, the willingness for change within these people were sometimes much stronger than in our senior leadership team.
Reflecting on the key lessons he has learned in business, Monsees highlighted a range of issues.
Aligning incentives to reflect the strategic goals of the whole business, rather than simply an individual vertical, is another important tool to deliver company-wide outcomes.