.I have seen executives move in and out of their roles quickly due to failed digital transformation efforts. These efforts fail for various reasons. Here are a few.

It's not like waving a magic wand. Expectations on timing and scope tend to be unrealistic in many cases. Failing to recognize that digital transformation is a multi-year effort can be a big mistake for leaders.

The devil is in the details and digital transformation efforts often fail due to poor execution. Prioritizing technology roll-out, governance, user adoption and measuring the right metrics needs to be thoughtfully orchestrated and deployed.

Change management efforts to transition from old to new are underestimated. Modernizing legacy organizational structures, ways of working, systems, processes, and tools can be the biggest hurdle to success.

"There’s a learning curve to digital transformation, and most companies need to walk before they can run. The key is to start with modernization efforts that don’t transform the business—much less create a new one—but which create the capacity to succeed in more ambitious efforts later on," says Dr. Didier Bonnet.

Link to Dr. Didier Bonnet's HBR article on the subject in comments