Digital leadership, ethics, and challenges

Abstract

Abstract This paper is an attempt to examine leadership in the digital era, which gives rise to digital leadership. Digital technology has caused a rethink of the leadership approach in a digital environment that is continuous, dynamic, proactive, and complex, which is driven by phenomena such as globalisation (connectiveness and integration), mass immigration, and multiculturalism. E-privacy requires consent from all parties; how to engage them in the process is a central theme of the paper. Furthermore the type of leadership required is discussed and how it needs to develop in the future, which is identified as the post-General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) era. Last, but not least, is a discussion of the challenges the e-privacy debate presents, such as collective or group e-privacy, and moving from a tick-box approach to GDPR to a recognised global framework that requires commitment from the CEO and the senior management team. Leverage via reputational damage and the power of a regulatory regime could be tools to make businesses commit in spirit to the GDPR framework and view it not just as a penalty for doing business.