As I sit here thinking about different leadership theories, I wonder to what effect will the Internet, and technology have on the way we lead. Will a new type of leadership model be generated from the IT era we now live in?
This thought came to me as I was busy answering my son's im's and email tonight. The generation whom are currently in college and younger have grown up with a dependence on a technology unlike any previous generation has ever experienced. We touched on this a little in class when I shared my use of my space as a "character reference" for new hires. So here is the first question I have for us to ponder and write about. Have any thoughts?
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5 comments:
I think the best thing the elder generation can do is to be open to new things. I see my parents as a perfect example. My father can barely type and spelling is out the window, but he can forward jokes better than anyone. He has tried a family chat room, especially with grandchildren all over the country. My mother, on the other hand, chooses not to try to understand e-communication.
Whether it's fear or feebleness that keeps us from keeping up, we will have to bravely embrace everything new that comes along.
I downloaded a podcast for the first time the other day. I burned it to a CD listened to it in the car because I don't have an ipod or mp3 player. But I'm sure I will soon!
In high school I had to type a research paper on an electronic typerwriter and it was one of the most miserable things I'd done. My mother told me to be thankful because she had a manual typerwriter. I suppose I am young enough where I was on the cusp of the technology boom. I have taken computers for granted and continued to learn what I needed based on schooling and job requirements.
When I began my job with DPS last August I took a lot of things for granted. One was that each of my officers knew how to use a computer because they had one on their desk. The average age of my officers is 55 y/o and only 5 of the 33 had any basic computer understanding.
Because we are colocated in different buildings (something new to them) I asked for email to be the prime source of communication. I may as well have asked them to cure cancer.
This past year has seen many new skills, both for myself and my team. While technology continues to advance I believe its uses within the work place will advance as well. However, we must be cautious of those "pockets" out there who can't, won't or haven't embraced technology.
I don’t doubt that new leadership models will emerge based on technical variables. Take for example the Project Manager that leads a multi-million dollar project from the comfort of his home, and his project resources are spread out throughout multiple countries... How do you effectively lead that group of people to complete a task without ever building camaraderie, trust, and respect through means of anything more than electronic communication? Is that possible?
With today’s technology we rely on email and Instant Messaging as a standard and primary means of communication more so than we do with face to face communication or over the phone. I once read that email is the new dial tone.
If that is true, how well do you ever know someone? You don’t know what their body language is saying as they type, you don’t know the tone they are trying to write a message in... do you? You can use smiley faces, bold, italicize, capitalize, or format the text to suit what you are trying to say, but does it work with someone that just doesn’t know your style?
I think leaders should embrace IT and learn to rely on it, but they also need to focus on communication when using technology. Otherwise I think a lot can be lost in translation.
-Joe Pelle
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