Keith is a thought leader in Digital Journal’s Insight Forum (become a member).
One of the big things that has been filling my time recently is a research paper on technology partnerships. This effort has produced a series of one-on-one interviews with some of Canada’s most progressive business and technology leaders.
Surprisingly, an element that keeps popping up as I work through these interviews is the degree of excitement that many of the leaders had about the future, balanced with the shared sentiment of stories of what seems to be holding them back.
One of those stories that has been emerging is the variance in ‘interpretation’ of what a technology leadership role even is. While many of the business-critical functions are regulated, require certification and have a high degree of oversight, technology and IT have kind of remained the ‘wild west.’
At a time when businesses are grappling with existential issues regarding technology, how it integrates and what it is, the backbone of how this is incorporated is in question — how does IT even fit into my organization?
From a definitive sense, Oxford defines IT as ‘the study or use of systems (especially computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and sending information.’
Here’s where I’ll present a challenge — I think this definition is grossly outdated, and that is part of what is holding us back.
Traditional technologists and IT leaders come from a school of thought that IT was an enabler — no different from a mechanic to a car — and would ensure that the businesses they supported were fine-tuned. Instead of switching out an air filter or carburetor, they would upgrade a server or networking gear or reset a password.
All of these tasks, although critical, became backbones for the field of IT. Even as the scope grew and more advanced application sets amplified the impact of IT, the role of the mechanic to the organization’s technical engine remained consistent.
However, the shift has been happening for years, and organizations are becoming savvy with the power that digital enablement can show across almost all industries. We are seeing a rapid shift of the skill sets that previously were cherished in stability, confidence and the ability to support a black box, very rapidly shifting to something very different.
The modern executives I am inspired by have a vision: they are storytellers and can connect and inspire other leaders aligned with a new digital future. These leaders aren’t the former mechanics but rather the ones who are redesigning the car altogether. As the great Astro Teller, CEO of Google’s X, The Moonshot Factory, once said, “Use creativity and storytelling as your main muscle instead of smartness.”
There is an opportunity to reinvent what exists and redefine what technology means in each of our organizations. When I think about the confusion that exists about technology and the path forward, there are two things we need to leave behind.
One is the notion that technology is a means to an end. No longer can technology simply support the way a company works, it has to integrate deeply to create meaningful leaps forward. There are no industries that can’t benefit from transitioning to a digital-first mindset. This doesn’t mean we replace human interaction, I would argue the opposite. Companies that can embrace a human-centric strategy that enables the superpowers of their people will be the winners in this new race.
The second is our current definition of what our IT teams are. From the interviews I have been completing, one of the largest challenges (and opportunities) is truly collaborating and maintaining consistency of vision across a growing pool of vested and interested stakeholders. As projects no longer have the requirement to support business initiatives and rather the opportunity to redefine them, the list of people who are wanting on the bandwagon continues to grow.
I suggest we start to look to technology as the connector and accelerator of our vision — a new language in communication that will allow us to weave a new narrative that moves past the infrastructure that supports it. What if we reimagine the definition of IT as the strategic integration of digital systems and processes that transform data into insights, drive growth and enhance the potential of our teams?
This new definition and framework can be the basis that we can inspire change, influencing how we contemplate our organizational design, the ecosystems of partnerships to sustain innovation and the balance of skillset to evolve the visions we have.
With technology now interacting with all facets of the business and past the movement of information, how would you define its importance to the work you are doing and the path you are on?
