Navigating Digital Transformation

Humans at Work with Michael Glazer

Change is driving digital transformation in organizations large and small, but how do change agents do it successfully? This episode explores the what, who and how of DX with two experts who have first-hand experience navigating this type of change successfully.

Lyndsey Jones is a strategic consultant who was the former Executive Editor of the Financial Times and driving force behind the Financial Times’ digital transformation. Balvinder Singh Powar is an innovation professor at IE Business School. Together, they are the co-authors of Going Digital: What it takes for smoother transformations.

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Episode Highlights

2:12 Lyndsey's role in driving DX at the Financial Times

4:03 How DX changed systems and processes at the Financial Times

7:26 DX challenges for change leaders as well as for employees

9:05 "Human live innovation"

12:05 How much alignment is needed to get a DX moving forward

14:40 Dealing with and learning from resistance to change

17:03 Involving people who oppose decisions that have already been made

19:27 Conflict as an opportunity to gain buy-in

21:40 Dealing with the temptation to lead change top-down

22:47 The importance of communicating vision

25:17 Is communicating vision about the problem or the solution?

27:45 How to manage diverse needs from diverse stakeholders all at once

30:43 How people considerations inform DX planning

33:08 Defining and receiving the support necessary to make DX work

What “working with humans” means to Balvinder

“Working with humans is understanding that we're complex. And also thinking we have to individualize what things mean with each person. And that's a big issue we have today when we talk about hybrid working, you have to give people some space, and you have to give them a bit of freedom, so that they feel that something's tailored to them. So for me working with humans is understanding individual needs, and adapting to them as far as we can.”

What “working with humans” means to Lyndsey

“I say trust...you've really got to trust people, you got to build those relationships and communicate, and the more you trust somebody, the more likely you're going to work with them and be successful.”

Resources

Read: Going Digital