"Code doesn't transform organisations : people do ..."

What truly drives innovation in the fast-paced world of technology? Is it solely the code, the algorithms, and the software?

Michel and I discuss this and more and the answer is a resounding no. It’s people.

We discuss how leaders can navigate the complexities of the tech world by prioritizing, understanding and nurturing the human element, as well as leading with context and clarity. Leaders must take advantage of the foresight and learning that comes from huge market shifts, and iterate on their blueprint for transformation.

What constitutes the new playbook for tech leadership? What’s shifting? Why is this shift necessary? We discuss the need for a new type of leadership, balancing technical expertise with cultural ambassadorship, inspiring teams with a clear vision and fostering open communication. Constantly reinventing connection and communication as the world evolves in more complex and numerous ecosystems is a call to simplify the human element intentionally. Transparent communication is vital to maintaining trust.

As humans, we need to intentionally guide AI as it develops. While AI excels at aggregating and correlating data, one can question its current ability to anticipate the unknown. AI agents may become self-learning, but they may still lack the human capacity to correlate unforeseen needs and read the deeper invisible relational and emotional energies.

Michel generously shares his experience and insights from his career in Silicon Valley and from working with start ups and leaders in the tech world.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Cultivate Context: Engage engineering teams early with comprehensive information to avoid misalignment and foster collaborative problem-solving. 💡
• Embrace Multifactorial Leadership: Balance technical expertise with cultural ambassadorship, inspiring teams with a clear vision and fostering open communication.
• Reimagine Connectivity: Design innovative ways to reconnect distributed teams, promoting alignment and consensus through regular gatherings and transparent communication.
• Balance Chaos and Structure: Maintain a “startup kitchen” dynamic within large organizations to encourage fluidity, agility, and rapid adaptation to change.
• Prioritize Strategic Frameworks: Develop long-term strategic frameworks, encourage calculated risk-taking, and foster a culture of continuous reinvention to anticipate and navigate disruptions.

• Beyond the Code: Unveiling the Human Factor in Technology Leadership Innovations - https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Code-Technology-Leadership-Innovation/dp/B0F6LVCXHQ
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellanglois/
• Website - https://michellanglois.us/

"Personal agency is key, even within big systems. Ground yourself in self-assurance. and intentionally use your voice."

Have you ever wondered what it takes to truly understand and drive transformation within your organization? Rethinking leadership itself. Prioritizing coherence, clarity, impact, and purpose can unlock potential you never knew existed.

A great conversation with Erin Herman on rethinking leadership itself. Prioritizing coherence, clarity, impact, and purpose can unlock potential you never knew existed.

Only 14 - 16% of leaders can articulate their 'why' : is this your biggest leadership challenge ?

One of the ways of addressing this is to ground ourselves in self assurance. Self assurance provides a source of stability that confidence, reliant on external validation, cannot match.

This is particularly important for women leaders, who are still working in and often constrained by a system that was not made for or by them.

It’s about putting purpose over presence, owning your presence and recognizing that your voice needs to be heard, regardless of whether the system readily welcomes it. This will in turn create different relational patterns and dynamics in your teams and ecosystems.

By prioritising presence and purpose, fostering self-assurance, and celebrating both successes and failures, you can unlock the potential within your team and transform your workplace.

How do you cultivate self-assurance in your leadership?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Prioritize purpose over presence to build self-assurance. Focusing on the “why” behind your actions makes your presence more genuine and impactful.
• Self-assurance, unlike confidence, is internally driven and resilient. It empowers leaders, especially women, to navigate uncertainty and advocate for equity.
• Organizations should foster “positive failure cultures” to remove the shame associated with mistakes, encourage risk-taking, and enhance team communication.
• Cultivate coherence by aligning personal values with organizational values, actions, and outcomes, which enhances personal value systems and team dynamics.
• Shift from control to curiosity to nurture potential. Leaders should ask more questions, actively listen, and build intentional relationships within their teams.
• Embrace mistakes and reject perfectionism to foster momentum and growth. Recognize that striving for perfection can hinder progress and innovation.

Find out more about Erin and her work here :

website : https://www.theerinherman.com/

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-herman-97832217/

"In order to transform successfully, you need to take an intentional and deliberate approach above ground with the things you can see as well as below ground with the things you can't see to drive transformation"

Matt and I delve into the world of digital transformation, and how to design an operating model that allows adaptability, impact and sustainable transformation. Digital transformation is often misunderstood. It’s best defined as working in new ways with new technology. Technology has rapidly advanced, but organisations need to focus now more than ever on aligning people and processes to leverage these technologies effectively.

We also discuss the importance of aligning people and processes with technology, and explore the concept of scaling effectively through Centres of Excellence (COEs). The shift from project to product to experience ownership is key to driving better customer and employee outcomes. This shift forces organizations to take customer experience design out of a niche marketing function and integrate it throughout the entire organization.

However, to do this there is a big cultural and leadership shift that needs to happen, and this needs an intentional and deliberate approach to both visible and implicit (cultural) aspects of transformation. This involves not only implementing new strategies, processes, and systems but also addressing behavioural failure modes, leadership styles and fostering new cultural characteristics.

Matt generously shares his insights and experience from working with leaders all over the globe in scaling digital transformation successfully.

What’s your biggest challenge in aligning people, process, and technology to effectively scale growth & digital transformation in your workplace ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Digital transformation hinges on bringing people and processes up to speed with technological advancements. Simplify the concept to working in new ways with new tech.
• Centers of Excellence (COEs) should be value-generating teams focused on specific areas: build, guide, share, or create. Avoid trying to be all things at once.
• Successful COE implementation starts with identifying the internal customer and their needs, then crafting a value proposition centered on them.
• Shift from project to product ownership by focusing on the experience; appoint experience owners who manage the customer and employee experience.
• Bridge the strategy-execution gap by establishing an operating committee that translates strategy into tactics, with experience owners playing a role.
• Successful transformations address both visible elements (strategy, systems) and less tangible human aspects like culture, values, and behaviours.

Find out more about Matt and his work here :

Website: www.treelinetransformation.com

COE Online Course: https://treeline-transformation.mykajabi.com/COE-course

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdevans/

Email: matt@treelinetransformation.com