Even in the Digital Age, many business leaders mistrust technology. IT departments are often kept segregated from the rest of the workforce, and tech tools are integrated slowly and begrudgingly. Yet, as consumers have come to expect companies to offer products and services with speed and convenience, the importance of advanced technology within businesses has only grown.
If business leaders want to leverage technology to achieve success, they need to ensure that tech has a prominent place within the business structure and strategies. Here are a few ways leaders can lead with technology now and into the future.
Leaders Use Tech for Revenue and Customer Growth
Businesses striving to use tech to the greatest advantage need to consider how they might employ technology in growth. In the digital economy, technology’s primary role is to promote growth, and leaders who understand the benefits of technology know to apply tech in this way. In contrast, many organizations relegate IT to cost takeout, which might feel like a major transformation initially but is ultimately inefficient at capturing the power of tech.
Leaders View Tech as a Primary Consideration
Business leaders who are uncomfortable around technology will gladly silo this field into IT. These leaders tend to consider IT as a functional group within the organization, and though they might gladly fund and approve IT projects, they do not invite tech professionals into spaces where decisions are made. It is imperative that leaders interested in leading their business with tech consider technology to be a broader business consideration, not merely an issue for the IT department.
Leaders Understand How Tech Impacts Their Goals and Priorities
Many leaders first develop their priorities, goals and strategies and then begin to integrate tech. However, tech-first leaders will utilize technology in the development of business objectives and plans. Because available technology can drastically alter goals as well as actions required to achieve those goals, efficient success in the Digital Age demands leaders to consider technology alongside strategy.
Leaders Employ Tech Language to Approach Problems
Many tech developers use strict patterns in their language, which helps them create programs that solve problems. Leaders should learn to adopt these language patterns as a means of integrating tech into their thoughts and habits. In particular, leaders might communicate challenges using if-then statements; for example, “If we can resolve X problem, then we will achieve Y objective.” By paying attention to causality in this way, leaders can create deeper connections between tech solutions and strategy — and they will become more adept at anticipating the next challenge.
Leaders Rely on Tech to Expand Options
Historically, organizations have called upon IT to enable decisions that have been made by non-tech executives. Yet, when leaders only rely on the technology they already see in their market, they lose competitive advantage and fall victim to disruption. Business leaders eager to build a business that leads with technology needs to use IT to expand their strategic options, inviting them into decision-making spaces to increase competitiveness and differentiation.
Leaders Continue to Invest in Technology
In the Digital Age, technology is not a one-and-one project. In fact, businesses that invest in technology on a programmatic or project basis are likely to suffer from challenges related to mismatched, lumpy and step-level nature of their solutions. Instead, leaders need to continuously invest in technology, as they would any other core component of the organization.
Leaders Devise Custom Tech Solutions
An explosion in digital technology development over the past few decades has provided businesses with outstanding choice when it comes to tech solutions. However, in many cases, it is critical that business leaders invest in solutions that can be tailored perfectly to an individual organization’s unique needs. For example, a company might partner with a provider like Workhuman to create a bespoke employee recognition platform that keeps their staff engaged and satisfied.
Leaders Share Tech Solutions
Technology solutions tend to be vast and expensive — meaning that no single firm can own every element of a solution. Thus, leaders need to allow low walls around their tech solutions, which allows all departments within their organization — as well as customers, providers, suppliers and more — to benefit from the resources provided by tech.
Technology and success go hand in hand — when leaders understand how to use technology properly in the Digital Age. By allowing technology to lead, business leaders will not only survive but thrive in the coming years of disruption and innovation.
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