With the digital transformation that is changing organizations at lightning speed, it is more important than ever to get off the couch and embrace the future. Using every means to constantly combat your digital illiteracy is the key to success.
Can digital technology be a source of enthusiasm at work? Yes and no. The human is not such a beast thirsting after innovations that we often imagine. “Everyone is theoretically in favour of change, but in practice there is a natural resistance to the digital revolution, to which is added at this time a certain fatigue due to saturation of the technological changes in recent years,” explains Jean-François Bertholet, consultant in organizational development at Énergie Mobilisation.
Start from the ground up: be open to all the new ways of working that digital tools allow, beginning with remote working and giving your employees more autonomy. In other words, put an end to micromanagement, because it kills innovation! “But be careful,” adds Jean-François Bertholet, “a good boss in the digital era will be particularly concerned to find the balance between trust and control. Trust digital nomads, but follow up often and keep communication open. Be the pros of remote leadership. The work has to remain human even if it is enhanced by digital technology.”
The time of the virtual
Once this is set up you can go much further. The first big rule to follow is to get off the couch: take the time! You have to learn to “delegate as much as possible”, the consultant says, to spend more time developing digital literacy, following LinkedIn experts, reading books on the subject and taking training.
Time will also provide the benefit of allowing the information to be absorbed and promoting critical thinking. “It’s really important not to let enthusiasm get too much ahead of the circumspection needed in the face of the many innovations at your fingertips,” cautions Bertholet. “You need to favour digital tools that will be truly useful to your staff, and be on your guard about non-respect of your employees’ privacy, which sometimes digital technology and the obsession with big data carries with it.
Taming fears
Should we fear that in the long run robots will replace humans at work? How can you alleviate the sometimes irrational fears in your organization that your innovations can arouse? The answer is easy – be a good ambassador!
“If the manager knows how to put it in ordinary language, for example the benefits of deep learning or artificial intelligence, and if he is transparent about the aims of setting up these technologies, he will know how to convince the team that human work, once free of mechanical tasks, will only be enhanced.” And before you know it, you will be on the road to innovation!