Technology is already transforming organizations at speed. That transformation is only likely to be further accelerated as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools are widely embraced in the workplace.
But while technology brings numerous benefits, enabling teams to work more flexibly, efficiently and productively, many people worry about the potentially negative consequences of using it. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a particular cause for anxiety with people fearing it could impact their lives and job security.
Earlier this year, a YouGov survey of Americans found that 54% of respondents were “cautious” about using AI, with 49% saying they were concerned, 40% describing themselves as skeptical, 29% being curious and 22% even feeling scared.
It’s down to humans to make technology work in practice. So, how can leaders capitalize on the human touch and allay their teams’ concerns to ensure they get the most out of the latest tech?
1. Prioritize vision, values and velocity
It is not the technology itself, but a combination of vision, values and velocity that makes a technology strategy successful, argues Garvan Callan, founder of transformation consultancy OneZero1 and author of Digital Business Strategy. “A leader’s vision provides a bold and bright ‘north star’ that connects and architects how their organization, as a collective, thinks and acts using the chosen technology as a tool to deliver the vision,” he says. “And organizing for adaptive and rapid delivery is the lightning conductor.”
Callan cites Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, as an example of a leader who initiated significant strategic shifts, including moving into electric and autonomous vehicles, while simultaneously spearheading a culture reset through her stewardship of customers, breaking down bureaucracy and resetting how the company thought about speed to market and risk. “The technology strategy needed the vision, values and new methods of delivery to drive growth and success,” he explains.
2. Listen to what people need
Listening skills might not seem the most obvious prerequisite for bringing about successful technology transformation. Nevertheless, people with agility and keen listening skills play a pivotal role in helping organizations to harness new tools, says Josefine Campbell, founder of development company Campbell Co and author of 12 Tools for Managing a Selfish Leader.
“Organizations often incorporate new technology to secure competitive advantage and respond to a changing marketplace,” Campbell explains. “It is the humans in your team, those who are on the ground, delivering the work, who are going to understand exactly what your organization, customers and partners need.” By leaning on this expertise and encouraging them to listen intently, you can ensure that your organization’s technology deployment meets its stakeholders’ requirements.
Campbell points out that technology requirements will constantly evolve as employee and customer expectations change. This further intensifies the need for people to listen intently to their market.
3. Curiously learn from failure
When trialing new technology, things rarely go entirely to plan. Yet, it’s when things don’t succeed that humans are especially vital, highlights Beth Benatti Kennedy, leadership and team coach and co-author of ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to ReCharge Your Career and Life. “Whenever a new technology is being integrated, the curiosity and ingenuity of leaders and their teams are essential to course correction,” she says.
Kennedy highlights that pivots will always be required along any journey, which makes an organization’s culture around failure all the more crucial. “If leaders are not instilling a positive approach to failure within their teams, it’s unlikely that they will keep trying new technologies in the future,” she argues. Curiously learning from failure and considering it a resilience-building opportunity is important to effective technology integration and wider organizational development.
“Success and failure are rarely black and white,” Kennedy notes. “By taking time to be curious, and analyze why a particular strategy didn’t work, you can embrace future challenges, take greater risks and improve your performance and the likelihood of success.”
4. Invest in cybersecurity awareness and training
As the amount of technology increases, so too do the risks to data and security. “Humans play a vital role in minimizing these risks and ensuring systems are secure and compliant,” says Niall Mackey, commercial director of managed email service provider Topsec Cloud Solutions. “Technology cannot be successfully integrated without human oversight.”
Cyber threats are becoming increasingly harder to spot, making people more susceptible to attacks. In fact, Deloitte research reveals that 91% of cyber attacks begin with email phishing. Furthermore, increasingly interwoven supply chains and growing global workforces can result in a “damaging domino effect” if teams are left without ample cybersecurity awareness and training.
Mackey suggests that training should take place at every level of the organization and be regularly reinforced as cybercriminals incorporate new techniques such as vishing (voice phishing) and quishing (QR code phishing). “Humans are an important line of cyber defense,” Mackey concludes. “The most successful organizations reinforce their team’s cybersecurity skills whenever they deploy new technology.”
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