Still Think the Metaverse is a Buzzword? Five Myths About Leadership and the Next Tech Leap

Article

Tristan Jervis

March 31, 2023

6 min

Technology and Innovation Technology Technology, Data, and Digital Officers

Executive Summary

We debunk five myths about how businesses are preparing for the metaverse, and share tips for leaders to avoid falling behind.

Tristan Jervis

London

Web3.0, including metaverse experiences, will eventually replace the internet experience that we know today. This technology will seamlessly combine our physical and digital lives in one space. While the metaverse continues to be defined, its disruptive potential is impossible to ignore.

We surveyed nearly 230 CEOs about their thoughts on Web 3.0 and metaverse technologies—and the actions their organizations have taken to date. This research identified five common myths about what strategic actions companies are taking to prepare for the metaverse, and how they are preparing their leadership teams and workforces for what is ahead.

Five Misconceptions About Leadership in the Next Tech Leap

Myth 1

This is all talk—most companies aren’t taking much action

Myth 2

Only consumer tech companies need to care about the metaverse

Myth 3

Chief metaverse officers are just for hype

Myth 4

Technology experts are the only leaders involved in setting the metaverse strategies

Myth 5

The race to the metaverse is among start-ups

Myth 1: This is all talk—most companies aren’t taking much action

If your leadership team hasn’t discussed the next leap forward in tech, you’re very likely behind your competitors. Although over 80% of companies have had discussions about the metaverses’ impact on their business, nearly 50% of companies are already taking strategic action towards preparing for the metaverse. Only one-third say they’re not getting in the game yet.

Taking strategic action

Taking a few ad hoc actions

No actions taken

Source: Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Leadership Monitor Pulse, October 2022, n=229 CEOs

Myth 2: Only consumer tech companies need to care about the metaverse

Among those taking strategic actions towards preparing their businesses for the metaverse, industrial and natural resources companies (mostly B2B) are in the lead, and significantly higher compared to most other industries.

% of leaders citing their organization taking strategic action about the metaverse

of industrial and natural resource companies

of technology companies

of consumer companies

of business/ professional services firms

of healthcare companies

of financial services companies

Source: Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Leadership Monitor Pulse, October 2022, n=229 CEOs

These strategic industrial and natural resource companies are not producing video games and glasses; rather, they’re innovating on city planning, car manufacturing, and simulating how supply chains can operate with sustainability at their cores. Technology and consumer companies, the more obvious choices, are also paying strategic attention to preparing for the metaverse.

The most common strategic actions taken across industries include:

Discussions with the board about strategic plans (70%)
Discussions about new roles and changes to the organization’s structure (54%)
Discussions around prioritized competencies and skills (50%)
Driving internal skills training and development (45%)
Increased investment in R&D (47%)
Launched new revenue generating business unit/service (41%)

Myth 3: Chief metaverse officers are just for hype

Our research shows that chief metaverse officers are not one-size-fits-all; in fact, we found that their remits can vary dramatically based on their industry, strategic positioning, innovation pipeline, where they are on the growth curve, and/or the marketing approach at their time of appointment.

Expanding tech officer mandate

Expanding the mandate of existing technology leaders is the top leadership shift made so far

New specialist roles

Newly, highly specialized roles are emerging, creating a bench of talent that can grow into metaverse leadership

Chief metaverse officer

Only a few have appointed a dedicated metaverse leader by name

Source: Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Leadership Monitor Pulse, October 2022, n=229 CEOs

Only 7% of leaders we surveyed said they have a formal chief metaverse officer today. Instead, most companies (41%) are expanding the mandate of their current technology leaders to wrap around this space or creating new specialist roles at levels below the C-suite (35%) to form a talent bench who can grow into metaverse C-suite leaders when the time is right.

At one point, every early emerging technology and technology leadership position felt like hype too (think chief information officers of the early 1990s and chief digital officers in the 2010s). But these essential innovations and roles came to be standard in every large company today, both for their deep expertise and for keeping up with technology innovation. Technology is dynamic—technology leaders must be as well.

Myth 4: Technology experts are the only leaders involved in setting the metaverse strategies

The technicalities of the structural components that underpin what will eventually become the metaverse are extremely complex. Our current level of innovation only skims the surface of the systems and hardware that will eventually power this space. That said, having a highly-skilled technology leader to drive this to market is a must and they must have a combination of technical expertise, business acumen, and a diplomatic disposition, because they can’t make the metaverse happen alone.

As Web3.0 demands new acumen from technology leaders, company leaders must recognize that their current technologists are key to these innovations and must be close to core leadership.

Companies taking strategic approaches to metaverse innovation today are mostly leaning on their technology leaders and expanding their roles to include what is needed to stay competitive in this race. But those technology leaders must work closely with the R&D and innovation leaders, as well as digital and data leaders who are highly involved at these companies. Strategy, operations and supply chain, finance, human resources, marketing and e-commerce leaders are also playing a major role in shaping their functions to be ready for what is to come – but will lean on technology leaders to understand what is needed to get there.

Source: Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Leadership Monitor Pulse, October 2022, n=145 CEOs.

In creating the metaverse, the balance between guidance and autonomy is key. We learned from leaders currently working in this space that ideating and innovating around the metaverse with the entire C-suite team, as well as at the function and divisional leadership levels, is crucial for garnering buy-in for what can appear like a nebulous agenda, that’s also operating on a much slower development cycle than most are accustomed to.

Myth 5: The race to the metaverse is among start-ups

Among companies taking strategic actions, just as many are publicly traded (22%) as those backed by private capital and venture funding. Another 31% of these companies are privately held.

Be on the lookout for metaverse M&A activity, as larger public companies seek to advance their positions by acquiring the strong growth companies that were first out of the gate. In fact, 42% of large public companies say that they have already increased their M&A activity in this space (compared to just 26% of companies of all ownership types).

How can RRA help?

We partner with you through the evolution of your metaverse leadership strategy

Executive Search: Find CEOs, C-suite, and board leaders who have the vision and the acumen to drive growth with the new technologies
Growth and Scaling: Build the most effective leadership team to scale your company through the growth curve, whether you’re a private capital-backed metaverse pure-play business or large public enterprise with a portfolio of new technology-driven acquisitions
Novel Leadership Roles: Plan for your first chief metaverse officer and guide you through models for embedding this novel C-suite position into your organization
Preparing Technology’s Next Generation to Lead: As the role of technology leaders evolves, we work with you to ensure your next generation of technology talent have the behavioral competencies needed to set the future agenda
Leadership Assessment and Development: Assess the technology acumen of every leader in your business to bring all leaders onto the same page, while developing their abilities to inspire peers and employees to believe in the long-term technology agenda of your business
Culture Advisory: Align culture changes with the evolution of your technology strategy to foster faster innovation

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Authors

Leah Christianson is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Center for Leadership Insight. She is based in San Francisco.
Jemi Crookes leads Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Knowledge team. She is based in Washington, D.C.
George Head leads Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Officers Knowledge team. He is based in London.
Tristan Jervis leads Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Officers capability globally. He is based in London.

Still Think the Metaverse is a Buzzword? Five Myths About Leadership and the Next Tech Leap

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