{"id":4983,"date":"2020-11-25T16:24:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T16:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/de-en\/uncategorized\/what-leadership-is-required-as-tech-advances\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T14:36:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:36:57","slug":"what-leadership-is-required-as-tech-advances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/de-en\/developing-leaders\/what-leadership-is-required-as-tech-advances\/","title":{"rendered":"What leadership is required as tech advances?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 2nd of our Technology and Humanity blog series, we talk to Hilary Harvey<\/a> about the leadership required as tech advances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Technology has been rapidly advancing in every sphere of life for decades. The conversation has long shifted from the capabilities of hardware to the innovations of software and onto the power of the algorithm and AI. As these developments change the way we work, they also cause us to question the way we lead.<\/p>\n

In this time of global crisis, the most obvious manifestation of technological progress is that our interactions have shifted online. It is the fulfilment of Scorsese\u2019s Zuckerberg who predicted, \u201cWe lived on farms and then we lived in cities and now we are going to live on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

But this has had a fallout effect. Both in general life and at work. \u201cIt\u2019s not just that people have to work differently but that they\u2019re doing so in the context of a general feeling of fear and anxiety,\u201d says Hilary Harvey, an associate partner at TPC UK.<\/p>\n

Without the advances in technology that have taken place in the last ten years, organisations would have struggled to function during this time. But the danger is that we will mistake the functionality our tech affords us for an all-encompassing solution.<\/p>\n

Adaptive leadership<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cLeaders have needed to adapt this year,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cTo think of themselves as managing change programs.\u201d The work has been to put new structures in place, to give vision in a time of uncertainty, and to coordinate teams through what might be an entirely new way of working for an organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard because people step into a role because they want to lead this team, to do this job, in this way,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cBut now they have been forced into a remote situation. How do you build morale when it wasn\u2019t their decision to work remotely? How do you support motivation and performance on an individual and team level?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaders cannot just rely on software and internet provision and automation to hold everything together. They need to have a critical eye of the situation and take real measures of how people are doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest risk is that people will burn out,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cUnder the psychological burden of constant stress, unless they are supported how can we expect people to have the same level of motivation and performance as before?\u201d<\/p>\n

Human-centric leadership<\/b><\/h2>\n

Leaders seek to move an organisation forward. Because technology appears to be always advancing, it is easy to look for it to be the answer to progression. But unless our tech is pulling our teams closer together, it might only be dragging us sideways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe need to be, not tech-centric, but human-centric is fundamental,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cAnd that has to be a decision from the top of the organisation that affects all levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually it\u2019s middle managers who are closer to the real issues. They have the potential to have a better grasp of what\u2019s going on than those in senior positions. But they can\u2019t notice these issues or communicate them if they are distracted by other priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cModelling human-centric leadership at the top is not enough to ensure it permeates the organisation,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cIf, when it filters down to middle management, those managers are still pressured into delivering results, they can slip into not paying attention to the human relationships. Unless they are challenged to have a human-centric view of the situation, it\u2019s so easy for middle management not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do we treat people? What do we really care about? It is easy for leaders, especially while\u00a0 face-to-face to face interaction is limited, for false priorities like efficiency to take prominence over people. And if we\u2019re not careful, technology can be a gloss of progressive paint that hides the slowly deteriorating material underneath.<\/p>\n

Leadership that facilitates team<\/b><\/h2>\n

For most organisations right now there is a struggle to maintain a sense of team. And we should be careful not to interpret technological provision as authentic connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because you have the tech in place \u2013 like Slack or Trello \u2013 and a lot of traffic doesn\u2019t mean there is a quality of relationship,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cThe risk is that leaders mistake quantity for quality of interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same principle applies to video calls, Hilary says. \u201cBeing present in a team meeting doesn\u2019t necessarily mean there is a sense of team. That\u2019s the same logic that inspires businesses to believe \u2018you\u2019re on video at your desk\u2019 equals \u2018you\u2019re doing a good job.\u2019<\/p>\n

Presenteeism is not a measure of engagement. \u201cIt\u2019s the responsibility of leaders to be holding the view of how we are doing as a team. And to invest in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilary explains how a professional service company has done just that \u2013 and has doubled down on it since the pandemic. \u201cWe train their consultants as team coaches so that when there\u2019s a project team working for a client, each team will have access to a team coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEach team coach is tasked with supporting them with how they\u2019re doing as a team, what their learning is, what\u2019s working and what needs to happen to make it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

We may be responsible for systems change, but unless relational leadership and team leadership permeate our mindset, we\u2019ll soon find technology isn\u2019t enough. As technology advances, we need to be careful not to lay to one side these more fundamental aspects. We are not leaders of technology after all but leaders of people.<\/p>\n

For insight on how to build trust, engagement and collaboration in a virtual environment, check our virtual teams training.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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