CEO Question- How Do Get My Leaders & Teams To Increase Their Use of Technology?

I am often asked by CEO’s how do they get their leaders and teams to increase their use of technology?

There are 3 ways to do this:

#1- You have to get individuals to admit our ‘out’ their technological knowledge or lack thereof. This requires a survey that asks specific questions about what they know and what they don’t know. By outing the true picture of technological knowledge you now have a true picture of your reality. In my experience most people are not willing to admit in front of their peers or their superiors their lack of knowledge for fear of looking incompetent. An anonymous survey allows for honest disclosure and provides the structure for the next solution….. 

#2- Invest in training. It is safe to say that most people in the younger generations have an easier time with technology. This is not to say that those born before 1980 don’t understand technology but for those born after 1980 technology is innate. Set up mentor ships with those who are technologically adept with those who are needing to expand their technological knowledge. Use your time during scheduled lunch and learns to have sessions on ‘the latest apps that work in our business” or ” how to use the cloud” etc. One of the things Apple has done a fantastic job of is providing training as part of their sales process. There is no question or topic too stupid for their Geniuses.

#3- Change the mindset by creating an environment of open disclosure and successful learning. In many corporate cultures the culture has created people who are afraid to be truthful or afraid to reveal any weaknesses. In regards to getting leaders and teams to use more technology or to use the technology they have to higher degrees we need to focus on rewarding them for wanting to learn more. An open mind to learning is modeled by the leadership. Recently I had a CEO client who admitted in his blog that he didn’t know about Evernote until recently. His team were pleasantly surprised at his candor and they began sharing what they ‘didn’t know’ as well.