What happens when senior leaders fall behind the digital curve, and how councils can gently support (or carefully select) for future-fit leadership.
There’s a quiet truth in local government today:
Many senior leaders, especially those who’ve risen through traditional pathways, are a little behind the digital curve.
It’s not a failure. It’s a reflection of the era they came through. But in today’s councils, where transformation means more than new software, that digital gap can start to show.
And it matters.
Not because we expect CEOs to code or manage servers - but because the shape of leadership is shifting. And digital literacy is no longer optional.
Digital transformation isn’t about tools - it’s about thinking.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to use a platform and knowing how to lead in a digitally enabled world.
A CEO doesn’t need to build the CRM. But they do need to understand:
What’s possible through automation and integration
The difference between digitising a form and redesigning a service
Why a PDF isn’t transformation
How data can (and should) shape better community outcomes
It’s not about the tech - it’s about the mindset.
Digital maturity is really strategic maturity.
What happens when a leader falls behind?
We’ve seen it, not just in interviews, but in lived leadership.
The CEO who prints every email.
The executive who asks for a “PowerPoint person.”
The director who dismisses a new system as “just another platform.”
Over time, the organisation adapts around them. The digital leads stop pushing ideas upward. The team accepts clunky workarounds. And transformation slows to a crawl, not because people lack ideas, but because leadership doesn’t understand them.
It doesn’t take much to create a lag. But it does take take leadership to close it.
You don’t need to be a whizz - but you do need to engage.
Most councils don’t expect their CEO to be an expert in technology. But the days of saying “That’s not my area” are over.
Today’s leaders need to:
Understand digital infrastructure well enough to ask the right questions
Be able to spot the difference between buzzwords and substance
Know how digital tools connect to service delivery, transparency and trust
Because if the CEO isn’t curious - no one else has permission to be.
So how can senior leaders quietly upskill?
Without pretending. Without overcompensating. Just with calm commitment to learning.
Here’s what we’ve seen work:
Attend the demos. Not just to approve - to understand.
Ask your teams to explain things. Not to test them, but to learn from them.
Sign up to webinars. Quietly watch. Take notes.
Assign someone you trust to give you monthly ‘digital briefings’. One page. Plain English. Keep it regular.
And when you recruit - look for digital maturity as a core leadership trait. Not just in IT, but across the executive team.
What councils can do during recruitment
When we're searching for senior leaders, we now ask specific questions around digital acumen, not to assess technical depth, but to hear how candidates think.
💬“Tell us about a time you supported a major digital shift in your organisation. What did you learn?”
💬“How do you stay on top of emerging technologies?”
💬“What role do you think digital innovation plays in community engagement or transparency?”
You can hear it immediately, whether someone’s been thinking about this or simply managing around it.
Final Thought
Being a future-fit leader isn’t about being the most tech-savvy person in the room.
It’s about being open. Curious. Willing to learn. And not quietly resisting change.
Because the best digital transformations in local government don’t start with software.
They start with leadership.
📧 Want help defining digital maturity in your next executive appointment?
We’re here: hello@leadingroles.com.au or 1800 088 000