Leveraging Technology for Organizational Success in Our New World of Work
In an evolving work environment, where teams are distributed across geographic regions, it can be difficult to find a sense of unity. By harnessing the power of technology, however, business leaders can motivate their teams and transform their business, no matter the challenges that lie ahead. With technology rapidly evolving, the skills needed to maximize its potential are more crucial than ever. It’s all-hands-on-deck; no more siloed tech teams using software behind the scenes. Now, every project team member must know how to respond and utilize technology to their advantage.
Project managers have always needed to understand how to communicate with and motivate their teams – and they will continue to play an important role in transforming organizations in The Project Economy, where individuals have the skills and capabilities required to turn ideas into reality. They are the changemakers who will bring teams together over boundaries and time zones to scale, sustain, and succeed. “Changemakers are key players in the new collaboration space,” explains Dave Garrett, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Project Management Institute (PMI).
Organizations must identify and nurture these changemakers and feed them the various skills needed to identify and solve problems, including design thinking skills so groups of people arrive at a solution together. Project managers have grown over thelast 12 to 18 months and are showing how technology is driving the change in the ways we work.
Organizations are being forced to adapt and transform faster than ever before, too. And as they work to adapt and create positive impact, speed, adaptability, and efficiency are of the essence. Garrett emphasizes the need for tech tools and consistency: “Experimentation must continue because the tools professionals use are evolving, but as an organization, there are also standard tools you must have in place across the board to have a consistent way of reaching and collaborating with your teams.”
Technology is an asset in our new world of work, but only if people are trained to use it. And as technology continues to evolve, organizations,and the people working within them, need to adapt and acquire a new set of skills to evolve, as well. PMI raises the bar and allows professionals to reskill and upskill themselves by offering a suite of products and resources that empower them to take on roles they may not have originally thought obtainable. One of the tools PMI has introduced to help organizations understand and adopt the speed of transformation needed is PMI Citizen Developer™– a vendor-agnostic governance framework of resources that educates individuals and organizations on how to lay the foundation for and incorporate best practices to deliver business value through implementing low-code/no-code platforms at scale. Through coursework and micro-credentials, PMI Citizen Developer helps organizations equip their employees with the standards and guardrails to unlock the true potential ofcitizen development, in a safe and scalable way.
Garrett goes on to explain, “Organizations must be flexible and adventurous when it comes to new technology, but you also must ensure that technology is applied in a way that is more positive than negative for yourorganization.” The ease of citizen development to implement change also allows developers to build applications that not only serve the needs of the organization, but also their needs as an individual. “Citizen development is amazing for the individual, too – building an application to solve a problem that's close to their heart, that’s for the customer, or for their own workflow.”
As we continue to adapt to our work environment and individuals navigate the Great Resignation, the need for mission, community, and sustainability have been identified as key factors that keep people at their jobs or attract them to new ones. Organizations must see their customers, shareholders, and employees as equally important stakeholders in a unified mission – and upskilling and creating a tech-savvy team will maintain more stability in workforces and transform organizations.
Garrett says, “We’re helping organizations find the tools to survive and thrive in this new chaos. When there is no conference room, we help changemakers stay flexible, gain expertise, and use processes and technology to drive change. When you have a lot of changemakers within your organization and you offer to upskill them and give them tech fluency, you get positive change – whether you're talking about positive change for your organization, or positive change for the world.”