How does new technology affect Leadership?
Looking at how new technology affects leadership, we can start to get an idea of how it can help, and how it can hinder.
As technology changes and gets more and more sophisticated, workplaces can suddenly find themselves turned upside down. This doesn’t just knock on to the work that employees do; it affects how leaders look after their teams, and the expectations those teams have of their leaders in turn.
How does new technology affect leadership in the office?
New technology constantly changes how we work, and this can make big changes on how a business’s people operate and cooperate.
One of the biggest technological shifts we’re seeing right now is the emergence of AI platforms. These tools are powerful, easy to use, and can drastically shift how we tackle problems in the office.
For leaders, this can mean needing to keep a close eye on how AI is used in the workplace. While employees can find some exciting and innovative ways to apply it to their own work, it’s easy to get carried away. Leaders should be vigilant for AI usage snowballing from a tool that helps with work to a shortcut that does some of it for you.
This and other examples like it don’t necessarily need to mean micromanaging employees, but they do demand that leaders keep up a strong awareness of new technology and how it might relate to their employees.
Among many other things, leadership means looking ahead and thinking about how the current technological landscape affects your business.
How does new technology affect leadership in a virtual environment?
Communication technology has a big influence on how workers relate to each other in a virtual environment. Platforms like Slack and Teams help colleagues communicate effectively and keep in touch despite working in different locations.
This is a great thing for remote working and teams that cooperate in various hybrid models, but it does present another way in which leaders need to be vigilant of their company culture.
Socialising and interacting in the office is a very different thing to chatting online, particularly when separate group chats can be made and private conversations can take place on the online platforms.
As such, leaders need to invest in platforms that offer an appropriate level of moderation and control, and ensure that they have people within the business who are confident in taking the lead with these tools and guiding staff in their use.
How new technology affects leadership is ultimately up to the business and its strategic leaders, so long as they make the right choices.
Leadership faces constant challenges as technology advances, workplace values shift, and new generations join the workforce.
These things can’t be changed, but what can be changed are leaders and their attitudes to these changes.
No leader is ever the finished product, and we at Team Academy know that better than anyone. To find out about our leadership training programmes, and how we help improve leadership skills, contact us today.
