It might sound like an odd observation: Digital Transformation is not about technology. Say what? We talk about technology all day long, about automation and Blockchain and artificial intelligence – and that is not digital transformation? Yes indeed! Because technology is only an enabler. Some companies are very good at tech, others do struggle – but the main thing about the actual transformation is always the people.
How do you change the way people think, act and work for hundreds or thousands of employees? How do you get them to do things differently, when they have worked this way for decades? That is the hardest part of transformation, digital or not. And you will only be successful when you accept and embrace this one fact: all transformation is about people.
The Employee’s Trilemma
Each employee faces their own trilemma: three problems at the same time. They all need answers to the What, the How and the Why.
- What
“Go forth and transform!” sounds good coming from the CEO. But what does it actually mean? What is an employee expected to do differently tomorrow?
Too many companies fail to be clear, specific and actionable on this point. So, if you want people to change, tell them explicitly what they should be doing differently.
- How
Even the most willing employee cannot do new things if they don’t know how to do them. “I want to develop a new service” is a good intention. But how do you do that? How do you build a prototype, how do you test it, how do you gradually iterate and improve, how do you build a business model for it?
You need to teach people, so they are able to fulfill their new tasks.
- Why
The past was quite all right. So why should we change? People need to understand what the goal is and what that has to do with them.
We talk about intrinsic factors (motivation, self-interest) and external factors, like culture and recognition. Being credited for a step in the right direction helps a lot. Getting blamed or ridiculed for a mistake on the way will kill all initiative.
People will only change (and be successful at it), when they have clear and personal answers to the What, the How and the Why.
If you want to find out more about this topic, follow this link.
